Chronos: Tainted Past, Broken Future
by Shiori
Summary: The sweepers start the day chasing a bounty who broke into Chronos and got away. But when Sven gets hurt things go wrong. Sometimes the past cannot be changed, the future cannot be saved, until the present has been destroyed beyond repair. Manga Verse
1. Prologue

**A/N: Hello dearest readers! This is my first real Black Cat fanfiction and my first works to be posted to so I am very eager for reviews, good and bad. But be gentle! ;)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat. Oh great master Kentaro Yabuki does. (He rules!)  
**

Rated T to be safe. There is some blood (Not excessive or very graphic, but some), fighting, and some mild language (Just some cursing, not a ton and no derogatory words).

* * *

_Sometimes the past cannot be changed, the future cannot be saved, until the present has been destroyed beyond repair. _

_Sacrifice is always necessary. The future is not set in stone and can always be changed, but the actions taken to do so will never be forgotten by those who were there..._

_By those who saw...._

* * *

Prologue

He didn't understand it. Nothing made sense. It wasn't as if the world had turned inside out. Everything he knew was true, his eyes would not lie. He had plenty of information on the matter as well. No... What Train didn't _understand_ was how he could have let this _happen_.

The wind whipped around him loudly, swirling through the area at speeds no normal day could produce. There was a warmth in the air as well. It was not from the heat of the sun, but from something else entirely.

He could feel it, energies flowing on the currents of wind, instigating the movements. It made the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end. This is what made him remain at his spot, regardless of what was going on around him.

That and the smell... Though the latter was definitely worse.

Blood. It was in there air all around and he was snapped from his thoughts, not realizing how deep he had begun to dwell in his regret. Now all attention returned to the carnage that lay around him, golden eyes laying focus onto two subjects.

But attention can easily be split. There was a shout from nearby and his head instantly jerked to the side, trying to find the source. Train knew that voice, even though it was nearly whitewashed by the other sounds.

Eve was shouting in vain, rubble strewn around her. He could see her injuries, numerous as were his own. This battle had cost them dearly and it chilled him to turn and see the bodies that lay on the ground.

Seeing the faces, familiar and once friendly, made his heart ache. He knew every one of the people who now lay strewn on the ground, dying alone and without a single hand to guide them through the pain.

It was terrible.

Eve was still shouting, tears streaming down eyes filled with anger unhindered. "Let him go! Make it stop, _please_!" It hurt Train to hear it. It hurt him too see her fall apart as he knew the same pain. But he also knew that there was nothing they could do.

If he could change it... if he had one chance to go back and do something over, make the slightest change that could make this moment nonexistent, then he would. But as it were, he was now watching as his future was going to be torn asunder.

Wind whipped even faster, biting at his cheeks as well as Eve's. Something sharp flew past the blond girl's face, grazing her skin, but the pain she didn't notice.

He however, did notice something. It was picking up speed, he could feel it.

Larger objects, though thought of as small under different circumstances, were now being pulled into the clearing. The heat was stronger, the sensation of energy growing, filling the area. Train felt not like he was facing an oven, but a reactor. The kind of tingle that you could only get from an energy that is dangerous and unnatural.

All this from a different point of view could have been pinpointed as some form of ungodly natural disaster. The temperature shift, high wind, debris strewn all around... But it was far from it. Nature had never intended for such things to occur, and never with something as insane as this.

Standing off to the side, those that had caused all this seemed smug, as if the deaths and the horrors they had brought on were of no consequence. Of course after what they were wanting, what they were _achieving_... a single life was meaningless in their eyes.

To them, it meant nothing to just take a man's life... which was precisely what they were doing. Train's eyes found what he'd been watching before once again. Regardless of how he tried to turn away, to distract his stinging eyes, they always found their way back. It looked so beautiful, images and colors swirling in and out in a way that defied logic. Beautiful, yet it could be so dangerous.

It was a portal, or more a rift in the fabric of time. Nothing else could be said to describe it. Something that shouldn't have even existed now threatened to consume them all. But not until it's master was destroyed first.

And not until the controllers were satisfied. For that, they wouldn't just be creating this swirling mass. They planned to go through it.

That was why in the center of everything, standing before the portal yet untouched by it's wrath, was Sven Vollfied.

It was as if Sven was somewhere else, the pull of the rift not effecting him in the slightest. Leaves were sucked into this vortex, branches torn and grass sliced where the opening touched the ground, but he remained unharmed.

All this power had come from Sven himself, his eyes staring blankly as if in a trance whilst the scene played. He couldn't stop it, all energy gone into this one divine power. It sapped his own strength, dragging him under from the inside.

Such power, forced upon him, couldn't be controlled. His expression was sad now as he remained glued to the spot. He could only watch as he was used for such an evil thing as this.

"Run..." The single word was whispered and forced from his lips. But no one could hear him, his voice torn from his throat into the gate. The images were becoming clearer now as the energy grew. The portal itself was no longer shifting sizes, but it still swirled and churned inside.

"It must be stabilized or there will be no crossing through." One of the men was saying. He wasn't the leader, only the information holder. His master nodded, going closer to Sven though his distance was still decided in regards to his own safety.

"The time must be set correctly, do you understand?" He shouted harshly. Able only to comply to demands, Sven nodded slowly. If he tried to stop what was happening, not only would it kill him but the rift would probably engulf half the continent, no longer calmed by another's will.

The images started to settle, people and places easily recognized by those who had been there. Train could see where the destination was set and it chilled him to understand where they planned to go.

Or more importantly, _when they planned to arrive_. Who knew what they planned to do with a second chance at life as it were?

Everyone who had been hoping for this cheered but a wave from their leader's hand silenced them.

"Stabilize the portal." He ordered. Sven however, began to waver. No strength was left in him and he could feel his own life slipping away. Soon unconsciousness would claim him, but if he let that happen, the portal would collapse on itself, and the enemy would only wait until next time.

But for his friends, there would be no next time. Threats were eliminated if the chance was given, and Train and Eve were in no condition to fight. They would be killed on the spot or even taken to torture later. He wouldn't put it past these men.

"I said to stabilize the portal!" The head man shouted angrily. "If you don't you now what will happen." Once again the rift began to calm down, wind slowing and heat now contained to one area. The puppeteer smiled contentedly. It was just how he wanted it. Total control and manipulation fueled his lust for this moment even further.

His mind the only thing still in his control, Sven wondered briefly if his last hope would yield in his favor. The likelihood was slim but there was a chance that this could be stopped...

But it was only to get worse from there. Train was torn from the awful sight as his peripheral vision caught something. A flash of light, glinting off of a smoothed metal surface. When he'd turned to look he saw that Jenos Hazard, Chronos Number VII was holding something in his hands.

He had been with them, one of the few who were not yet a fatality, though that could easily change.

Now, he stood over a body, easily seen as that of a woman. Her blond hair splayed about her, covering her face and hiding most of the damage that had been done. Sephiria Arks was motionless as Jenos gazed down at her for a moment, his expression hidden.

He spoke something, though it could not be heard, and sword in hand, drew Ichthus from it's sheath. Train watched as he examined it for a moment then turned towards Sven, a look in his eye reflected in the blade he held.

Blood lust.

Once a joker, all humor was wiped from the man's face as he cleaned off the blade on his torn jacket, walking slowly towards the group of men and the puppet they controlled. All eyes were on Jenos as he headed towards the portal's power source. The man's own eyes stared back at them, hatred seen behind brown irises.

"What are you doing?" One of the members asked, his voice full of doubt. Jenos's eyes were hidden under shadow from his bangs now, but his body stance told them enough. The portal was ready now, a single image showing through, rippling slightly as if a leaf had broken the stillness of time's pond.

Before action could be taken, there was a sudden flash, a shadow disappearing into that very same pool. Everyone was caught off guard, realizing that something had already occurred while their guards were let down.

"Stop this!" Their leader shouted furiously. "No one is allowed through the gateway until I have ordered it!"

"That's too bad." The voice had come from Jenos, silencing the sudden outbursts. All eyes were on him now, expecting something.

He gave them exactly what they wanted.

By the time they realized what he was doing it was too late. Jenos was no longer in front of them, instead he was standing parallel to Sven. The sweeper just stood there, eyes calmly watching Number VII. It was as if Sven had given up, no longer caring to learn the man's next move.

Their eyes met briefly, something unspoken passing between them. Perhaps it was a silent goodbye from Jenos, a last sign of decency now hidden behind betrayal.

Train's eyes grew wide and he could hear Eve scream as the blow was dealt. One moment Jenos was standing in front of their partner, and the next Ichthus was protruding from Sven's back.

Cloths and grass were tainted as the wound made itself known.

Jenos's face was still hidden behind the shadows as he removed the sword, Sven falling to the ground, as motionless as the blade that landed at his side. Mismatched eyes stared serenely, no longer seeing the sky they faced as all life slipped from the sweeper's body.

Though everything seemed to slow down until life itself was frozen, time could never truly be stopped. With his last breaths gone, the gateway's energy source vanished. Light seemed to pour from it, as the images spun furiously, the portal shrinking.

Jenos stood over Sven's body, staring at it for a moment as panic spread through the other onlookers. He could see Train and Eve running towards him. But that didn't matter. He took one last look at the broken body that lay beside his feet and then did the unthinkable.

The images seemed to be flashing in a sequence, moving through time periods, days flashing by. Jenos stared at it, waiting for something. The opening was getting smaller and smaller, but it appeared he had found what he'd been searching for.

Jenos turned, taking a single glance at the group of men and then at the sweepers. He shouted something and without another word, dove into the rift.

Just as he disappeared, the gateway collapsed, vanishing so completely that it was as if it had never existed. Instead, it had dissolved leaving death in it's wake, the destruction a terrible reminder of its former presence.

Now Jenos was gone too, his final deed done.

Eve clutched Sven's body, her own form wrenched with sobs. Trying to hold back his own sorrow, Train closed his eyes, no longer able to stand seeing the two colored orbs that endlessly stared up at the sky before him, sightless as glass.

Suddenly, his own pain was gone, forgotten and insignificant. Train stood up unhindered, and slitted eyes turned on the men responsible for all of this happening. A black and gold gun with the number 'XIII' engraved upon it was in his hand.

Hades was cocked and aimed, its targets in full sight. Train glared, his opponents staring down the barrel in actual fear. Sweepers took in bounties alive... but as of that moment, the sweeper in him was gone.

Black Cat tensed his finger on the trigger. "I will never forgive you for this." He said, voice hissing through clenched teeth. "The past can never be changed. And it's time you learned that a life is more precious than anything in the world!"

There was an almost unheard click, and gunshots rang out through the air, mingling with the sound of sobs. Train fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face, his body shaking.

"A life... can never be returned. Not once it's gone." He gasped, looking at his own tainted hands, tears splattering soundlessly on them.

His eyes found the spot where the portal had been, all senses feeling completely numb. He hadn't been able to stop anything of this. Despite everything, he had never seen it coming. And now...

"I wonder..." He chuckled slightly, though more out of self pity than actual humor as Hades dropped from his hands. "What do you plan to do Jenos?" He didn't even notice as his head hit the ground, body finally collapsing as darkness moved in.

"What will you do now... to the future?"

X X X

**I hope you like it so far! I tried my best to make a good opening chapter. Comments are always welcome and I hope that it leaves you with many questions. (As it should) Chapter 1 will be up soon!  
**


	2. Chapter I

**A/N: Alright, here is chapter 1! I know it's long and I hope it doesn't bore anyone, but it just couldn't be broken up. Now we start the story! And I hope you all enjoy it! Comments are welcome. Please read and review!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Black Cat. A pity... I would certainly like to. ;)**

* * *

Chapter I

Jenos's eyes snapped open and into focus as his mind registered a name being called. As it turned out, it was his own. His brain took a moment to realize that whoever was calling him was actually very close, standing beside him in fact.

"Sorry." Jenos apologized hurriedly, turning to see who had spoken. "I sorta zoned out for a second there." He chuckled slightly. The one who had been trying to gain his attention was Lin Xiao Lee, Chronos number X.

"Xiao Lee?" Jenos muttered suddenly, half to himself and half aloud. Why was he standing next to him here? He looked around, scanning through faces and people as he tried to figure out where he currently was.

He was standing amid fellow Chronos numbers in a grand hall, the ceiling arching up high and supporting glamorous chandeliers. There was a large podium to his immediate front, as well as rows of decorative seating above and all around. He realized then that he was in the grand meeting hall of the organization that was Chronos.

The elders came here once a year along with representatives, associates, and partners of Chronos for their annual announcements and speeches. This was the yearly discussion of only the most elite of Chronos's hidden operatives.

Jenos looked down at his own hands and body. His usual black jacket covered most of his violet undershirt, both neat and pressed with his tie missing as usual. They were terribly ugly things and the ladies preferred the open collar and necklace chain combination.

But, all of this shouldn't have been there. His cloths had been tattered and ripped, covered in dirt, ashes and worse. Now they were untarnished and spotless, as they always were or should have been. There was no longer the smell of fire and blood... no longer any bodies at his feet.

Xiao lee spoke to him again, his tone hushed so as not to interrupt the current speaker whose voice echoed across the marble floors. "Is something wrong?" he asked, eyes boring into Jenos's own as they searched for something unknown.

Number VII only shook his head casually. "No I'm fine." He chuckled, waving Xiao Lee away as he rubbed the back of his head.

He had to act natural.

Lin nodded, but a thought suddenly came into Jenos's mind. He leaned back over towards the newest Chronos number, his words whispered as well. "Hey Lin, what's the date?" At the other man's surprised expression he added, "I was supposed to take Rinslet out and I can't remember if it was tomorrow or the day after." He shrugged sheepishly.

Number X's eyes narrowed slightly, looking between both of Jenos's dark irises as if confused somehow. It quickly passed however, and he gave his signature smile. "It's the fifteenth, of May in case you can't remember that either." He laughed quietly. "You're so forgetful sometimes Hazard."

Jenos nodded smiling. "Yeah well, I've got a lot on my mind right now." Apparently he'd been a bit too loud for Xiao Lee put a finger to his lips.

"Quiet, Lord Wilzark is speaking." Jenos apologized quickly and turned his head back towards the podium, appearing to focus on the speaker. However, he wasn't actually listening, no matter how serene and occupied he may have appeared. After all, he remembered the exact speech by heart.

It wasn't hard, considering he'd just heard it only days ago. He caught a few sentences here and there, regardless of how far in his mind he dwelled. They were the same, not a single line or word out of place.

It had worked... just as he had wished. He was at this very moment of time once again, repeating it... reliving it for a second time.

Hidden amongst a mass of bodies and therefore unnoticed in the crowd, Jenos smiled to himself. It was amazing what such a gateway could do. They had such that it couldn't be done... physics wouldn't allow it.

But apparently, it had. He had returned to the very moment in time he had planned, and with all of his memories completely intact.

The possibilities were endless now.

Xiao Lee watched cautiously as Jenos's expression changed, seeing clearly that the other man was hiding something. It was unusual for an expression like that to be seen on someone like Jenos Hazard. Clearly something was different.

But sometimes, a secret was better left where it lie, and so Lin turned his attention back to Lord Wilzark, simply making a few mental notes to himself. Whatever Jenos was hiding he could always find a safe way of learning later.

All this passed unseen to Jenos, still caught in his reverie. His mind was busy calculating, going over events. If he was right, then things had gone precisely on schedule. Time passed quickly and the event was soon over, guests quickly dispersing.

As soon as everyone had cleared out, Jenos slipped out the back way, making sure that no one had seen. He had places to be, and interruptions wouldn't do. After all.... he had turned back the clock, therefore time wasn't something he was about to waste.

If he wanted things to change, then he was going to do it... no matter the cost. He had already done many things that he would never have thought to do before. It was dangerous... but they didn't call him Hazard for nothing.

X X X

"Where's he going?" Train shouted to his fallowing companions. "What kind of guy starts running downtown instead of heading for a forest or something?" The trio of sweepers was at it yet again, bright and early this morning. Their current target was up a head of them, making a beeline through crowded downtown streets, bashing passerby out of the way in the hasty process.

"He's not just running at random Train." Sven said, coming up beside the black cat as he looked at a map on his cell phone. "If his direction is any indication, he's probably headed to the old warehouse on the edge of town. It's big, no one's around, in the middle of the forest… catching my drift?"

Train nodded. "Yup, if you want a place to hide, that would be it… And we're all going straight for it."

Two weeks ago their target, Carter Jacoby, had somehow managed to break into one of Chronos's secret offices and make it out alive. It had been no coincidence either. They had found the guy searching through top-secret documents in an underground room. Of course, the media wouldn't say what was there, but Train recognized the building.

The newscasters and spokespeople could try to cover it up all they wanted, but Train new Chronos affairs when he saw them.

The fact that this man knew where Chronos was stationed at all was a very bad sign. He knew something that someone didn't want him to. Of course, people like Chronos couldn't allow such a perpetrator to get away, so why not send someone else to do their dirty work? They'd done it before.

So a few days later a bounty was posted. Carter had already had Nine Hundred grand on his head for murder and bank robbery, so all Chronos had to do to keep people quiet and get sweepers in on the chase was to raise the numbers. Jacoby was now wanted for a grand total of Two Million.

Never able to resist a challenge, Train had insisted they take this guy on and maybe even learn a little about what he wanted with Chronos in the process. Besides with that kind of money, certain _debts_ could be paid even with Train guzzling up a quarter of the profit.

So days of searching had taken place, fallowing leads as the three narrowed down his possible whereabouts. Luckily someone had leaked the news about Carter's involvement with Chronos a few days after the original newscast, and no other sweeper had dared to catch 'The man who'd escaped the ultimate death'. So, they had time.

With help from Annette, the three had finally tracked him down to this city. All that was left to do was catch the guy, which is why they were currently running as fast as possible while trying not to up end any unsuspecting vendors.

They were almost out of town when Eve pointed ahead. "I think I see the warehouse!" She shouted. The buildings had dwindled until there were only a few lower end fast food restaurants and older houses. The forest was visible and surrounded by tall pines was a large gray building, worn down and dirty.

Mr. Jacoby was already there, clearly working at a large padlock with some pliers in order to enter. It would take a minute, allowing Train, Sven, and Eve time to catch up.

"Alright guys, you know the drill." Train said as they neared the ramshackle building. Sven and Eve both nodded, splitting off in different directions. When there was an opening, they knew what to do.

"Come on… hurry up and open you damn thing!" Carter cursed, flicking a strand of auburn hair from his eyes as he continued to work at the lock. There was a loud snap and a thud as the padlock finally broke, falling to the ground and skidding slightly across the pebbles. Wiping sweaty hands on grungy pants, the thief pulled open the door, wincing as it let out a shriek, grinding against other metal on its old hinges.

"You really suck at escapes you know that?" Jacoby's hands stopped and he bit his lip. "I wouldn't move if I were you."

He slowly turned around, wary of the one who'd spoken, only to come face-to-face with the barrel of Hades. Train grinned, his head tilting to one side. "Going somewhere?" he asked.

His golden eyes flashed brightly in what sun the trees allowed through. "Move and you'll have some very bad luck on your hands." He gestured with his gun slightly. "Besides, you wouldn't want any unsightly holes in you right? It's not easy to eat with only one arm…"

He'd meant this as a joke, but it came across a little more menacing than intended. Jacoby didn't seem bothered by anything he said or did however, apparently having nerves of steal. It didn't matter though, by now the others were probably waiting inside.

"You guys don't quit do you?" Their perpetrator asked. "You and those other two… dare I ask where _they_ are right now?" he scoffed, mumbling almost to himself. "Not that you'd tell me anyways."

Train cocked an eyebrow. "What are you talking about?" He caught something in his peripheral vision, leaves rustling where there had been no wind and a shadow slipping past. What the…? Did this guy have an accomplice?

Train turned back, only to find an empty space and a couple of footprints. "_What?!"_ He blinked, head swiveling from side to side as he tried to locate Jacoby. "Oh come on, how did he get a way so fast?" Train sighed, sliding the door open loudly. "I mean I turned away for like, two seconds!"

Grumbling to no one in particular, the sweeper closed the door behind himself and began dragging crates and boxes in front of the entrance, barricading it. Just thinking about what would happen if this guy got away made his stomach growl.

You could only eat so many cups of noodles in your lifetime.

Patting dust from his hands, Black Cat looked around, trying to spot his target. The inside was dusty and unused, crates, barrels, containers and boxes of various sizes lying all around and stacked almost to the ceiling on either side.

"I wonder what all this stuff is anyways…" Train spotted what he was looking for. There were two figures, one hidden behind a large shelving unit, and another up in the rafters. He nodded to the larger one up in the crisscrossing beams and the silhouette seemed to move slightly.

"Looks like Sven and Eve are ready." He murmured, fingering Hades almost habitually. "Now, to find our guy." Cautiously he wound his way around various equipment into the center of the room.

"Alright Carter, come on out!" Train shouted, both of his hands cupped around his mouth. "I'm here, just like you wanted!"

There was a laugh behind him and he whipped around. "You shouldn't leave yourself so exposed you know, regardless of whether or not you're trying to lure someone out." He was now staring calmly at Jacoby, his opponent holding a gun that Train found pointed at his head.

Black Cat's eyes narrowed slightly as he flexed his fingers, now inches from the gun holstered to his leg. "I don't think you want to be doing that." Something Zagine once said came to mind. The head was a rather small target... This guy was more of an amateur than he'd thought.

Carter raised an eyebrow, his grip on the pistol still unwavering. Train didn't even flinch as a bullet whizzed by his arm, missing by inches. "Sorry, I can't let you draw that hades of yours. One wrong move and I'll shoot before you can touch that special gun." He spat.

Train let out a sigh."Fine, have it your way." he slowly raised his hands over his head. "I will not shoot, happy now?" Apparently Jacoby missed the sarcasm.

"That's better." he smirked instead. "Now, just tell me where both of your little buddies are and I can let you go. Or, I could put a hole through that forehead of yours." The clichés were really getting on Train's nerves.

"I don't need to tell you where anyone is." He said, something glinting in his peripheral vision where only he could see. He smiled calmly. "They're both right here." Just in time and right on cue, a rectangular silver case slid from nowhere, landing at Train's feet.

The wanted man looked at it question. "What the hell is that supposed to be?" He blurted. A high pitched beeping of some sort suddenly began to resonate off the wooden and metal walls of the building and it was getting louder.

"Oh crap!" Suddenly the case seemed to split apart, opening and aiming at the bounty man. Train took that precise moment to dive out of the way, his enemy distracted.

Light and smoke exploded from a hidden nozzle in the attaché case and Carter was knocked away, coughing and blinded. Coming out from his own hiding place now, Train could see through the dispersing dust as Eve and Sven emerged from behind warehouse storage.

Wait a second... wasn't someone in the rafters? Train shook his head. Duh, they climbed down. All this food deprivation was getting to his head. "Nice job Sven, and here I had thought you wouldn't do it in time." He chuckled.

Sven shook his head. "You have absolutely no faith in my abilities do you?" Eve simply rolled her eyes in silence. This was all just their usual mid-fight banter.

Their opponent finally recovered from the explosion but now faced all three sweepers head on. They weren't letting him get away again if they could help it.

"We can do this the easy way..." Eve began, her little blond pigtails suddenly growing longer and turning into blades while a lance transformed into her hand.

"Or the hard way." Sven finished, retrieving the attaché case from the floor and holding it towards Carter. "You pick, we haven't got all day."

Yet again, their target showed his worth by remaining unfazed. "Up against the notorious former Chronos number Black Cat, a girl whose entire body was created and filled with Nano machines, and former IBI agent Sven Vollfied." Carter whistled."My I am in a pickle aren't I?"

He pulled from his back two large guns. They were both entirely black and unusually bulky, the barrels larger than normal and the body oddly shaped. "I will have you know that Chronos has more information on you three than half the criminals in the country. It's rather impressive, so let's see what you've got."

He gave a short laugh, almost more of a bark, and began firing off rounds at Train, Sven, and Eve. But it was too bad. They weren't this notorious within the 'Higher Ups' for being amateurs.

To the untrained eye it would have appeared as if the three hadn't even moved, the bullets going through them. However, Carter was a sort of specialist and he could see as Train deflected bullets almost casually with Hades. His eye patch now in one hand, Sven dodged easily with the Grasper Eye and Eve's newly furnished shield rendered the large metal pellets as useless as thrown pebbles.

"I never thought I would see it in action." Carter breathed, his eyes laying focus on Sven. The sweeper on the other hand was starting to get a creepy feeling as Jacoby focused specifically on his right eye.

"The vision eye I presume, isn't that right?" he asked. "A gift from a friend I believe? I would know it anywhere." Sven's eyes narrowed at the last remark, but still he remained silent.

"Something wrong Vollfied? Such a sour face." Jacoby shook his head. "Unfortunately, as much as I would love to come with you, this isn't the place we need to be right now." This statement caught the others off guard.

"What does he mean this isn't the right place?" Eve asked, looking to Sven for an answer. "That doesn't make sense, he led us here..."

"It doesn't make sense to you now, but it will." Carter pulled from his jacket pocket a small black remote. Train cursed pulling Hades, but he was too late. The button was pressed and it made him regret his slow reflexes. Where was this guy keeping all this stuff?

All around and below them, the bullets that had once been easily dodged now simultaneously exploded. They had been right to think that Carter's guns looked odd and in fact they'd been specially made. The guns themselves exploded as their owner threw them at the three sweepers. The entire weapon design was ingeniously inventive.

Smoke filled the room, clouding vision, as crates and boxes exploded, scattering wood across the concrete flooring. Some containers smashed as they hit the bottom, others simply collapsing in a heap. The smoke was thick, completely obscuring anything that wasn't five feet away.

It had been a good move, providing a complete smoke screen. Careful not to hit anything, Train kept low, feeling his way to the front of the building. If their target wanted to escape, that's where he would head.

"Hey Sven, Eve where are you guys?" Train shouted, coughing on smoke in between. He reached the door, yet found his poorly made barricade untouched. If Carter wasn't taking this way out then...

Feet scurried in every direction across the floor, but no faces could be seen to accompany such sounds. Train was just heading back when someone's elbow bashed into him, nearly sending him into a large tub like object.

"Hey watch it! Princess, was that you?" He called but yet again received no answer. There was a loud clang, clearly something metal and heavy hitting something. A shadow flashed past Train again and he tried to fallow whoever it was to no avail.

"Where is everyone?" He still couldn't see. Those guns had been pretty effective. Train was just about ready to wait until everything cleared when he felt a sudden hand clutch his shoulder.

_Whack!_

There was a familiar yelp."Hey what was that for Train? You trying to break my hand or something?" Sven was holding his wrist where Hades had collided with it. "Man that thing is heavy... I hear you shout and come to find you and this is what I get." he murmured.

Train let out a sigh of relief. "Sorry, I thought you were Carter or something." he replied, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. "It's not like I can see in this soup." he gestured around vaguely to the clouded air.

"Yeah well, I think I know where that guy went." Sven said, motioning for Train to fallow. "Apparently there's a trap door leading to some kind of basement. I was going to fallow but figured I shouldn't go down alone."

His partner nodded. "Makes sense. Hey have you found the princess yet?" he asked as Sven led the way. At least the smoke and dust was finally starting to disperse.

"I'm right here Train." The Black Cat bashed into a large mound of cardboard boxes, knocking them over, as Eve appeared from behind him. "I was with Sven the whole time, or didn't you notice?" She could be scary sometimes the way she walked around without a single sound.

Gathering himself up again, Train caught up to the others. Things could be seen now and he saw his two partners in crime leaning over a hole in the floor, a large metal door clearly the cause of the clang he'd heard earlier.

"You're saying he went down there?" Sven nodded. "Since when do abandoned warehouses have basements?" There was a dusty and old looking ladder leading down into the opening.

The others shrugged at Train's question. "I read that often times warehouses could have cellars, if they were storing items such as dried food products or wines." Eve stated.

Train raised an eyebrow, looking from the girl to the opening. "Yeah well this place doesn't exactly look like the kind of building to hold wines in case you hadn't noticed." He pointed out while Sven tested the first wrung of the ladder with his foot. It lead down into nothingness, untouched by any light.

From where they stood it almost looked like a void. The ladder seemed to hold though, so Sven started down. "Come on you two, for all we know there's another exit from down here and our paycheck could be getting away."

Both Eve and Train ended their discussion there, quickly fallowing down. Soon they all touched ground. It was pretty far down and so very dark. There was also a slight chill coming from somewhere, though it could have easily been a simple temperature change from the change of levels.

"We're certainly underground, though I'm not sure how far." Sven murmured, adjusting his white hat as he felt around for walls. None of their eyes were fully adjusted yet, and for all they knew they wouldn't be able to see even after they had.

The hallway was pretty narrow, though not so as to make them walk single file, but it was dead silent, cement walls seeming to block all noise from inside or out. The floor appeared to be made of pressed dirt, giving the area an earthy smell.

After at least a minute of fallowing the tunnel to no avail, Eve decided to speak up. "Um Sven... don't you carry a lighter?" She asked simply. There was silence for a moment.

"Oh yeah..." You could hear Sven's hand hitting his forehead. He dug a hand into one pocket, pulling out his lighter. Flicking it open, a small flame was procured, giving off just enough light for everyone to see each other.

"Nice going Svenny baby." Train joked, elbowing the older man in the ribs. "And you say I'm the genius." While Train was busy snickering, Sven decided to look around.

The walls were plain and devoid of any marks, the ceiling made of metal and farther above their heads. It was a very odd sight to see. Basements usually just led to a room however this tunnel seemed longer than even the average hallway.

They continued to walk until the bleak and gray wall came to a halt, interrupted by a side door.

"What's this?" Train tried the golden handle, but it was locked. "You think I should bust it open?" He asked, taking Hades out.

Sven shook his head. "Unless this is carter's doing, I think that this door has been locked for quite a while." It was true, dust was everywhere and it didn't look like the door had been opened in a long time. "I have a feeling that wherever our guy is, the way will be open."

He was too right in that matter. A second door appeared in the long hallway and as they continued this place seemed less and less like a normal basement. Something else was going on here. Signs carved into or above the doors had warn off names, numbers and other titles, a couple words even appearing to be scratched out deliberately.

Sven had to keep relighting the small flame of his silver lighter, but eventually the hallway ended abruptly, a last door in front of them. It was larger and light could be seen through an old fashioned keyhole.

"Ok, the clichés in here are almost overbearing but... I'm going to say that this door is probably _unlocked_." Train said, reaching for the handle. "Ready?" He asked. His partners nodded, lance and weapon case aimed at the wooden fixture.

"Good." Sven put out his lighter and returned it to his pocket, giving Train the signal to proceed.

One well placed kick sent the door flying open. Train could have simply turned the handle, but he felt this made for a better entrance. But instead of a welcoming committee, the area beyond the door seemed empty.

The three entered with great caution, backs to each other as they surveyed the room. It was strange to be sure, and definitely unexpected for your average warehouse basement.

Inside, it was abnormally spacious with a high ceiling. The walls were lined with screens and consoles long forgotten, tubing, pipes and other equipment spread about. The floor was tiled, though now covered in ash and dust, debris littering it liberally. But what stuck out the most were the scorch marks.

"It looks like... there was an explosion in here." Eve said, examining the blackened back of the door they'd just entered through. All across the walls ashes were spread and glass littered the walkway from giant broken containment units as well as beakers and bottles.

It looked like a laboratory, torn and stained papers scattered everywhere. There were stains from liquid that had spilled but dried long ago and every imaginable computer part could be found damaged and in pieces, lining the tiles and desks. The size of the room seemed to suggest a project of enormous magnitude, but the destruction said it went wrong.

The three began to search through everything, carefully lifting glass shards and documents, pulling out computer disks and trying to slide cabinets aside. "Who would have guessed something like this was here?" Sven asked aloud, gingery looking at some sort of needles.

But while his teammates were scouring the place, Train was searching with his eyes, looking for their missing target. However as carefully as his heightened vision scoured, he couldn't see any movement, there were far too many patches of shadows.

"I'm getting a bad feeling in here." Eve said just loud enough for the boys to hear as she slipped something into her pocket. She nearly tripped on long wires that stretched across the floor, hooked up to monitors with broken screens.

"I think we should leave." She had seen Doctor's lab when Train and the sweeper alliance had taken on Creed, and this place gave her the same feeling. The idea of being dissected asserted itself and she shivered. Fear had once been a new experience for her, but she had felt it enough and at the moment her stomach was tight.

It was as if someone was watching them...

Sven was starting to agree with her. Instincts never lie, he had learned that while still at the International Bureau of Investigations. Not to mention that when you had been a sweeper for as long as he had, you knew when something was wrong.

"Yeah Train, let's go. If Carter isn't here, we'll just have to try again later. I agree with Eve, there's something definitely bad about this place." A chill was running down his spine as he looked at the shattered remains of something, clearly the center of whatever had caused the burn marks.

Train understood what they were feeling, for he felt it too. But unlike his cautious friends... He wanted to find out what was causing it. There was a reason people said curiosity killed the cat.

"Let's just stay a little longer guys." He said, turning to join them by the machinery. "Jacoby's here, I can feel it and he'll come out soon enough." He flashed a large grin. "Besides, you guys want to pay of those debts you're always talking about right?"

Sven's eye twitched. "Did he really have to bring that up?" He asked sighing heavily. His sulking was cut off though as a sound caught his attention. It was soft, like the rustling of leaves and he turned in time to see the last in a stack of papers sliding from one of the tables onto the floor.

Train must have bumped the table since neither Sven nor Eve had been anywhere near it. That, or years of sitting there unbalanced and haphazard had finally made them slide off.

Under normal circumstances, the sweeper wouldn't have given the papers a second thought, but something was telling him that these were important. It was like a sixth sense nagging at the back of his mind. He just needed to know what they were.

So Sven got up and bent down, picking up the papers. He immediately froze as his eyes fell on the word printed across the top sheet in large black letters.

CHRONOS.

"Why does this say Chronos?" He whispered this only loud enough for his own ears to hear. There were only a few pages, five maybe six, and half of them were in pieces, all incomplete. They were either torn or burnt, some even unreadable due to stains or smudges. They weren't ancient, definitely not, but they were definitely old.

"Hey what's that?" Sven jumped, having been lost in thought, as Train came up behind him, looking over his shoulder. He eyed the papers. "Find anything important?" Eve quickly joined them, asking a similar question.

"I don't know." Sven shook his head, flipping through each page slowly and scanning over some of the context. "But from these papers it looks like this place used to be a hidden research lab for Chronos."

Train's eyes grew wide. "What? For Chronos?" he asked, trying to get a better look. At least this room was lit, though dim it may have been. A line of aged lights overhead had been turned on, probably by the man they perused. As Train read over the top page, his expression hardened.

"Train... do you know what any of this is?" Eve asked, gesturing to the papers.

Black Cat shook his head. "Look at the date on this paper." He pointed to the top of the page. "This stuff is pretty old, before I joined Chronos and became a number. Even some of the more recent dates are around the time I first joined. That was years ago." He shook his head, clearly as lost as the others.

"But it's weird, some of these look like they were made at different times. This one is on blank a paper, this one lined. And these two are definitely older than this one..." he said, pointing at the top three pages.

While Train was puzzling, Sven continued to scan through each of the papers. It wasn't until he'd come to one of the last few that he stopped. A few of the bottom papers were clipped together, fastened as a set. It was the top one of this section that made his eyes grow wide in surprise.

"What on earth?" A name was written across the top along with a photo that was attached. It showed the head of a man with short brown hair, green eyes and glasses. Sven could only stare, going between the name, the picture, and the Chronos seal that stamped the top of the document.

"Sven what is it?" Train asked, catching the other man's expression. He looked over the page. "Hey who's Lloyd Goldwyn?" He asked, scratching his head. "The name sounds familiar somehow..."

"Cut it out Train!" Eve said, elbowing him in the stomach. "Can't you remember anything important? Lloyd was Sven's old IBI partner." She said harshly.

"Ow... princess..." Train rubbed his afflicted abdomen with one hand as he grabbed the picture of Lloyd. "Sheesh, I'm sorry. How am I supposed to remember the name of every dead guy I learn about?"

"Train!"

Luckily Sven wasn't bothering to pay any attention to the two. His hand went unconsciously to his uncovered right eye. The moment Train had removed the photo, Sven had experienced an almost overbearing flash of Déjà vu. To him, it was as if he had seen this very moment, these same papers before.

But... something was different. In the flash, he had seen large scorch marks on the page, half of it not even there, torn away. The picture wasn't their either and there had only been one piece of paper...

He put a hand to his head. It was starting to hurt like hell. This was really a bad time to be getting a migraine. He tried to ignore the pain, focusing on something else. He had to know what this was, and reading was the only way.

The first page itself was filled with information and statistics. Height, wight, age, and blood type. Family, parents names, relatives, current residence and job as well. Everything you could ever need to know was right there on this paper. It was damaged in a few areas still, but mostly intact.

"Which isn't how it should be." Sven shook his head. Why had he thought that? He shook the thought away, regaining focus. His eyes strayed to the area saying age. That was odd... this was pretty old.

It had been seven years since Lloyd had died, but by the age listed Lloyd would have been even younger, possibly before he'd ever met Sven. That was strange considering the picture didn't look that much younger than when they had been partners.

"Even if this is old..." He told himself, "As far as I knew Lloyd had never been involved with Chronos. So then why..." There was an abrupt bang and Sven felt the rebound as a bullet went through the paper in his hands. Most flew out of his grip, shattered into smaller pieces by the large bullet.

Dropping those that remained and whipping around, he was almost instantly back to back with Train and Eve. The gunshot had echoed through the room and they were all trying to pinpoint it now.

"Got a lock on him yet?" Eve asked.

Train shook his head. "I can't, this place has good acoustics. I can't pinpoint the firing range unless I hear it again." Three sets of eyes scanned the room, shadows lurking in every corner.

"There's no need for that." The sweepers turned towards the voice and watched as Carter jumped from seemingly nowhere, landing easily on his feet. He had his hands clasped behind his back, a wide grin on his face as he leaned calmly against one of the walls.

"So I was correct... you did know Goldwyn." He stated casually as if addressing an old acquaintance. "And here I didn't want to believe it when I first heard it. But of course, you could say that seeing is believing. One's eyes never lie." His gaze once again turned to Sven's different colored eye.

"Am I right?"

Sven balled his hands into fists. "What are you talking about? Why are you acting as if you knew Lloyd?" He was clearly upset, but Train cut him off.

"You can ask all these questions later." For once, Train was the one taking the logical approach. He must have been pretty hungry to be saying something like that. Sven seemed to calm down and nodded.

"You're right, sorry." he said, pulling the brim of his fedora lower down on his head. He noticed however when light glinted off of something small and silver that was clutched in Carters now visible hand.

"Didn't you learn last time? You cannot beat us with a simple gun." Eve pointed out calmly, having noticed it as well. "It won't work."

But this only seemed to amuse Jacoby and he began to laugh. "I hope you're catching all of this." He said, seeming to aim the words at someone who was not there. All three bounty hunters glanced at each other.

Carter's eyes seemed to search the room. "And _you_ as well."

"What is he doing?" Eve whispered only loud enough for her companions to hear. They needn't give her an answer however, for it was soon handed to them regardless.

A loud beeping filled the room, its source easily identified by the red light flashing from the device in their target's hand. At a second glance, this object now appeared too small to be even a hand gun...

"Dammit! Watch out it's not a gun, it's a suicide bomb!" Sven shouted.

"Too late!" Carter laughed as he held the bomb high in his hand. "Long live Chronos!" Eyes wild, with a flick of his hand he tossed it at the trio, the beep that it was emitting changing pitch.

The resulting explosion was quite large considering the size of the bomb itself, but it seemed to come at them almost in slow motion. Of course that could have been the adrenaline speaking.

"Eve!" making a run for the door, Sven crashed into the girl, encompassing her entire petite body with his own as he dove away from the oncoming blast. However through it all as the fire reached them, some thing more precise and clear could be heard through the rumble of the blast.

A single gunshot, leaving it's master's weapon as his last checkmate before being consumed. It easily flew through the inferno, surviving intact to find its target. Carter had played his last card and it was an Ace.

Sven let out a gasp not as the blast hit him, but as the bullet did, lodging into the right side of his upper back. The pain went through his chest and sent his vision spinning, but he was lucky. Not only did it miss his heart, but had it gone all the way through, Eve may have been hurt as well.

Unfortunately, the sweeper didn't have much time to think over any of this. The explosion finally reached out it's fiery grasp across the entire room and spreading down the hall to other rooms, sending the entire warehouse up in flames.

Under other circumstances such a small explosive wouldn't have done as much damage, but fueled by hundreds of flammable cargo, the fire was only encouraged.

All of the basement's occupants were thrown out and into the air, landing above ground hard as the earthen room was blown away. Sven was out cold long before he hit grass though, his arms still wrapped around Eve.

X X X

Train shook his head, sitting up carefully as pain suddenly flooded over him. He winced when he tried to put a hand to his temples, one of his arms clearly broken. "I can't... believe that guy." Various curses flew from his lips as he gingerly stood, his injured arm cupped at the elbow with his other hand.

The wreckage was a sight to see before him. He had apparently landed a little ways outside of what had once been the warehouse, now left to smoldering supplies of wood, and scattered metal paneling. Small fires were everywhere and smoke filled the air.

They had been farther away from the building when underground, and train could see where the hidden tunnels had exploded, now leaving large craters of broken earth like the ground's furrowed wounds.

His cloths were singed and torn as well as blackened by ash which Train noted he'd now smeared on his broken arm. "Stupid fires..." He spat, looking around. He was lucky to be alive after the stunt Jacoby had pulled, especially in a such a confined place.

As it was now, half the floor of the warehouse was gone, showing evidence of the tunnel and basement they had been in, now completely unrecognizable under blackened walls. Thinking back, the same giant hole had probably been his exit.

But there were more important matters at hand. "Sven, Eve!" Train called, searching for any sign of the two sweepers. He shouted once more, but there was no answer. Nearby a crate exploded as it caught fire, sending up sparks and Train had to shield his face.

"Come on guys, answer me!" He began to pick his way past the carnage, searching everything with his eyes when his diminished strength did not allow for debris to be moved. They had to be alive... they just had to be...

Eve coughed, opening her eyes. "What happened?" She managed to roll out from under whatever had landed on top of her, sitting up. Yet as she dislodged herself, whatever she had been under rolled over heavily and let out a groan.

"Sven!" Eve remembered how he had shielded her from the explosion before both were knocked unconscious. There had been a gun shot and then the fire... her eyes fell on the dark stain that now tainted Sven's once clean white jacket. If that wasn't bad enough, both their cloths were ripped and burnt, Sven's the worse of the two, his hat also lost somewhere.

Eve gently rolled him onto his back, regardless of how uncomfortable his injury might make this later, and began to gently shake him. "Come on Sven, you have to wake up!" He didn't seem to stir at all and Eve got worried. The fire was getting worse and if they didn't leave soon it would be trouble.

In the middle of trying to wake her friend once more, she suddenly heard a familiar voice calling. The breeze, once soft and welcoming was now against her though, simply fueling the flames and spreading smoke. She could hardly see and it was getting harder to breathe.

"_Eve, Sven, where are you!" _It was Train! Relief flooded through her and she managed a gentle smile.

"Train over here quick, Sven's hurt!" Another minute and Train was running towards her, jumping over a metal barrel in the process. Eve immediately gestured to Sven's limp form. "I can't carry him by myself."

Train scowled. "There's just one problem, I'm pretty sure my arm's broken." He gestured to it grimly. "Maybe even a dislocated shoulder, it hurts a whole lot. How are we supposed to get him out of here?"

Just then they heard a groan and both faces turned downward. Sven's eyebrows knit together and he began to stir. Mismatched eyes opened, looking up at familiar and relieved faces.

"Eve, Train... is that you?" Sven pushed himself up on one elbow, carefully sitting up. A hand went to his head. "I feel like an elephant just ran over me..."

Eve sighed, falling to one knee as she suddenly realized how exhausted she was. Her head was pounding and her entire left side ached from where she had hit ground with Sven's wight on top of her. "We need to get out of here." She said wearily.

Sven nodded. "I agree." He was in a lot of pain, particularly from the gun wound, but he was pretty darn sure he would live. Besides, this was no place to rest and both his friends didn't look much better than he felt.

So, bending down he picked Eve up piggyback style. She was careful to avoid his wound as the three headed for higher ground and clean air until the fire seemed behind them. It had been a weary climb and all three collapsed for a moment in a heap on the ground.

"What was all that about?" Sven asked once they had all gotten up again. The view was an abysmal one, smoke flowing in large black billows up towards the clouds as the flames finally began to smolder and die.

"One minute we're fine, the next this Jacoby guy starts talking nonsense and blowing himself, and us, up." he winced, a hand going to his chest.

"Hey man, are you ok?" Train asked, worry etched on his face. Eve had said Sven was hurt but he hadn't found out how or if it was bad. His partner was now leaning against on of the surrounding trees, his breathing ragged and face pale.

"You look ready to pass out, what happened?"

Eve looked worried sick as she put a hand to one of Sven's arms. "He got hit by a bullet in the back while he was protecting me from the explosion." Train blinked, completely shocked.

"Don't worry too much." Sven said waving the statement off as he forced a smile. "I've been shot before and have had injures that were much worse." He began to cough, the action sending pain searing through the entire right half of his upper body.

"D-Dammit..." Coughing furiously, Sven fell to one knee with a thud. His coughs soon grew wet and pulling a hand away his eyes became wide.

"That's not a good sign." Train said as he spotted the blood. He hurriedly grabbed one of Sven's arms. "Come on, I can help you walk." he started to pull Sven back to his feet. Instead of complying, his partner only fell back to the ground, now on both hands and knees.

"Ahhh....!" His body trembled visibly, blood running in thin rivulets from the corners of Sven's mouth. "Why does this suddenly... hurt so much...?"

"Sven, hey Sven answer me!" Train called, trying to snap the other man out of it. "What's going on?" That was when he could finally see the extent of Sven's injury. It actually scared him to see the hole in his comrade's white jacket.

Sven's breathing was getting worse, now coming in quick gasps. It looked as if he was going into shock. "Come one, we've got to get him to a hospital before he gets worse." Train ordered. It wasn't going to be easy though with his own broken arm and Eve's limited upper body strength.

Suddenly Sven drew in a sharp breath going completely still, one hand clutching his chest as his head bent back. The other hand slowly moved to his right eye.

"What... what's happening now?" Eve whispered, leaning in closer. She couldn't have possibly under stood though. For that Eve would have had to witness exactly was Sven was currently seeing.

As pain levels skyrocketed, seeming to burn through Sven's entire body, he thought that he was passing out again when his eyesight filled with endless black. Instead of loosing all senses though, images began to splatter his vision.

People, places, and events he had never seen before.

At first nothing was clear or definitive, flashing through so fast he couldn't see. But one by one a picture here and there would slow down, passing by more slowly allowing him to see what was going on.

_A shadowy silhouette standing amid crisscrossing rafters, looking down below on a room filled with crates... Train and Eve, both looking terribly hurt and horror struck, surrounded by debris..._

"What's... happening?" Train and Eve looked to one another as Sven choked out these words, his eyes seeming unfocused to them as if looking elsewhere.

Sven couldn't even see his friends any more, normal vision completely consumed by these visions, none of which seemed to correspond to one another. One moment he was seeing a person, a man he did not recognize. Then everything happened very fast.

_Someone was hunched over consoles, a flash of something and blonde locks splayed around a fallen figure... A familiar face standing over a body in shadow, sword clutched in hand, dripping scarlet... Swirling colors in an endless abyss..._

Sven clutched at his head with both hands now, clawing at disheveled jade locks, trying to grasp what he was seeing.

_Whispered words shouted in vain.... a blade driven through... Then flashes of red, numbness, a hand outstretched, pleading words never heard...._

"_Ahhhhh!!!!!" _He cried out in agony, head thrown back in a wail. His vision was blinded, he couldn't see. There were too many faces and pictures... too many moments, too much to understand! His mind couldn't take it!

Now he heard it, someone calling his name. But was it real or another delusion? Sven couldn't tell anymore. Finally his mind and body could take no more and as Train was shaking him by the shoulder, the older man suddenly let out a groan, going limp.

Black Cat noticed the change and instantly eased his shaking. "Sven? Oh my god... come on snap out of it pal!" his words were frantic, but Sven was out cold and completely unresponsive.

"Stop it Train he's unconscious!" Seeing the tears ready to fall from Eve's eyes he stopped, carefully laying Sven on the ground.

"That's it, we're leaving." Train bent down as low as possible. "Here, princess get him on my back." The words had no second thoughts about the way they were uttered. Eve hurriedly shook her head and complied, lifting Sven up by his under arms. With Train's help they were able to lift him up.

"But Train where do we go?" He stopped his hasty walking, turning back. "We've lost our only means of payment and if we go to a hospital they'll expect us to pay." Eve continued, her expression looking as if the matter were hopeless.

Adjusting Sven's dead weight Train managed a genuine smile. "Don't worry. We'll go to Annette. No matter what happened, she'll help us." This was true, and Eve quickly caught up, fallowing Black cat's lead.

"After that, we need to find Rinslet." Train paused, looking to the girl in confusion. She dug into the pocket of her shorts and pulled out two small disks, both unlabeled, but one in better condition than the other. They looked old, but were completely intact as far as they could see.

"I found these with the papers." She said. "Perhaps if we can find out what that warehouse was used for, we can get an idea as to why Carter broke into Chronos and then led us to that specific room. I have a feeling their connected."

"Nice going. I have a feeling you're right." As the two left the scene they didn't notice when a shadow in the trees moved on it's own.

All that was left behind them now were the remains of the warehouse and a silhouetted figure standing beside where the entrance used to be, frowning in his hiding place.

Jenos shook his head, watching as the sweepers left. "This was certainly not what I expected to happen."

X X X

* * *

**Well there you have it. I hope it wasn't too rushed at the end. Chapter two is being planned right now ( Basically the rough draft isn't on paper yet) therefore it will be a while, but I will try not to disappoint any readers and will put it up as soon as possible!**


	3. Chapter II

**Hi again! Before we get to Chapter II there are some things I need to run by everyone.**

**Though this story fallows the manga, I am debating a few things. In later chapters, I will be using Chronos numbers, however for reasons that can't be said yet (it would give stuff away) I need more than are shown in the manga so I might incorporate Numbers III, VI, and IX as they are shown in the **_**anime**_**. I figure if they were in the anime then, had he the need or the chance to introduce them in the manga, Kentaro yabuki would have used the **_**same **_**characters. Please review and tell me if you'd rather I leave those three out of the story. Sorry for the long intro here!**

**Disclaimer: Black cat and all its greatness are property of Kentaro Yabuki. If **_**I**_** owned Black Cat, you can be assured that there would be much more Sven in it....**

**

* * *

  
**

Chapter II

The moment that all three sweepers were out of sight, he let out a soft chuckle, permitting himself the smallest of grins across hidden features. "Strange... and here I believed Black Cat to be more alert." The figure stepped out from behind the very trees that Train had passed, his gaze shifting to the remains of the warehouse.

"He should have seen or at least sensed my presence easily." He murmured distractedly to himself as he studied the wreckage. He had planned everything out so carefully too... Not one of the previous occupants had witnessed as he had slipped inside silently. The unnamed silhouette sighed, moving a stray strand of dark hair from his eyes.

His mind now went over details as his eyesight unfocused, going inward instead. "It had been tricky to say the least, to get inside that building in the first place... Never mind erasing any traces of my little entrance..." He walked in the shadows, careful to keep any stragglers unaware of his presence.

It had been hard to literally cut himself a doorway, but with all the scrap metal lying around, hiding such an entrance had been only to easy.

Heading closer to the wreckage, the smell of burnt wood and grass was quite apparent. He put a finger to the blackened side of a tree, vaguely aware of the soot it left on his hand. Nearly everything within a hundred feet was either blackened or alight with flames.

Sooner or later someone would see the smoke and report it. What a sight that would be to see, fighter fighters and policemen searching the area for 'clues' as to what had happened. All they would find would be a lot of rubble. He'd planted various explosives inside the other rooms, just to make sure nothing was left behind to incriminate anyone.

Then again, they might find carter's body. But what with the strange circumstances and his current wanted status, the foolish officers would probably take it as a suicide attempt. They would never really _learn_ anything.

The man continued his speaking, though it was clear that he was talking to no one but himself. "Such flawless precision. Then that ignorant criminal had to go and destroy those papers... such a pity. It wasn't easy finding the information for them either."

This was a lie and he knew it well. The task had actually been rather simple to set up, anything he needed presented at his fingertips. _It was good to have resources_. A little trip wire went a long way when used correctly and with an adept hand. Such skill could allow him to easily, say... knock over a stack of papers? Then there had been the simplistic matter of making sure all the other rooms were locked...

"Well... at least something seems to have worked out as it should." He smiled to himself as his eyes registered movement down beside the largest areas of rubble. Standing there, glaring in his direction as if he knew the mysterious man was there, a man in a black suit was almost hidden beside one of the charred walls.

_Almost_ hidden, for though the sweepers had apparently missed this man as well, he on the other hand, could see him quite clearly from his current vantage point. The hill he stood on had a gentle slope, but was cast in shadows from the setting sun. He could see, but was unseen. An advantage he enjoyed.

This other person however, seemed very upset indeed.

He liked that very much. With a click of his tongue he shook one finger at the man, though it probably couldn't be seen behind the growing darkness. "For shame Number VII." He said mockingly. "I had expected better from you." Without another word he easily slipped out of sight and into the ever tighter tree line.

X X X

Jenos smashed a clenched fist angrily against the nearest stable tree. He had known someone had been fallowing him before, and whoever had just been standing up on that hill, silhouetted and unrecognizable, had just proven it.

This mystery person had managed to outwit a Chronos number. Either Jenos had let his guard down in this little excursion, or this mystery person was a danger to be reckoned with.

But regardless, he smiled slightly, though it was devoid of humor or happiness. "It looks like I was right to come here." he looked around, shaking his head. What a mess. If that person hadn't interfered, things would have gone just as he'd wanted. As it stood now, the scene had played out just as it had before.

"Although, I think the explosion was bigger last time. " He muttered to himself, smirking as his foot kicked aside a blackened tree branch. "Still..." he put a hand to his forehead. He could already feel a headache coming on from inhaling all the smoke.

Already something was out of his hands. A piece had already been put in play, the chess match once again heading towards a checkmate. He had no control whatsoever and that really pissed him off.

The wind picked up, sending his bangs into his eyes and rustling up burnt needles and leaves. He watched as they splayed across with ashed, bending to the whims of the air. Jenos bent down, picking up a piece of burnt paper that fluttered long with the plants in the wind.

The fragment had survived in tact amazingly enough, but such little was left of it. "It's already started." He found his mind wandering as he stared as the torn piece of photo, a single green eye staring back at him.

He crushed it in one hand, anger boiling inside him. It had all been going smoothly in the beginning. The decoy, the chase, even location was set just as he expected...for it had happened last time. But when it came to changing things... Instead of having his way, Vollfied had been shot, but all three of the sweepers had simply walked out.

"Yes... that was it." Jenos suddenly realized, remembering the ordeal inside of the warehouse once his mind had strayed from the subject of sweepers. "It was when the smoke screen came up." he decided. "That was when things started to go wrong."

He had miscalculated. In his own hurry to make sure that everything was going smoothly, Jenos had managed to bump into Train as the former Chronos number made his way to the door. Jenos had been close to the entrance, hiding in the rafters where he had then jumped down from.

"There was another mistake." He told himself.

When the sweeper had entered, he'd spotted Number VII in his hiding place. Apparently Black cat thought like his namesake and had visually searched the highest areas first. Fortunately, Train had mistaken Jenos's own shadowed form for that of a comrade.

Mister Hazard inwardly berated himself. Those mistakes could have been costly had lady luck not been on his side. He was already getting sloppy at the very beginning. That would easily change he told himself. He would _not_ make such trivial errors a second time.

Picking his way past fallen trees and various rocks, Jenos decided that he would take the most indirect route possible, therefore avoiding the chance of meeting any unwanted personnel. Turning up here would cause far too many questions.

As he left the wreckage, his mind turned to what he had seen. The bioweapon girl.... she had taken with her two small black disks before the explosion. What were on those disks, none of them knew, though obviously they wanted to find out. Jenos had to get there first at all costs.

"Looks like our mystery man is interfering far worse than I thought." This troubled him greatly. Last time around, there were many unexplained things, and for all he knew, this person was the reason why. Of course, if anything happened differently...

Jenos had to ask himself the question. Was he the only one who had made it through the portal?

He was so busy concentrating that he'd lost his balance on a steep incline and managed to tear his jacket sleeves of an rock. Cursing, he hoped no one would notice it as he regained his balance and continued.

There wasn't any time for that now he decided silently. For the moment, he knew that the disks were priority. "It appears I have to pay a visit to a dear friend." he said smugly. If you wanted information, there was only one person with the proper skill to go to. Jenos grinned.

"I wonder if Rinslet is free on Saturday." The only flaw in his plans were the fact that at the moment, he was expected elsewhere. There would be trouble if he didn't show up at the appointed time. "Rinslet will have to be properly 'attended to' later." he decided.

Jenos was now standing by an open street as he brushed any debris or ashes from his arms and adjusted his shirt collar. The traffic wasn't too bad or overly noisy and he casually crossed the street without problem. For the moment.... he had an assembly to go to.

"Be ready you trouble maker." He said, thinking of the silhouetted form as it had hidden among the tall pines. "If you get in my way again, I won't hold back." His fingers flexed a moment before he placed them in his pockets casually, Excelion's weight felt as a comforting thought.

X X X

Everything seemed just too quiet for his liking. He felt that there sound be at least _some _form of sound. The beeping of monitors, the rush of oxygen masks, or the quiet whisperings of doctors who did not wish to disturb their patients. The noises any normal hospital would provide.

Instead all he could hear was Sven's deep and slightly rasping breathing coming from the other side of the room. Guilt gnawed at Train's stomach. His friend had been shot in the back, had some sort of attack, and then collapsed. Yet they couldn't even afford to take him to a proper medical facility.

Train sighed as he collapsed with a bottle of fresh milk on one of the chairs Annette had provided. It hadn't been a pretty sight earlier. They'd arrived half dead, knocking on the older woman's door. Upon opening it, she'd actually started shouting at them before either Train or Eve could explain.

"_Train Heartnet, what the hell did you do this time!? I've seen all three of you beat up pretty bad in my day, but now you show up here in the middle of the night and it looks not only like you two are ready to pass out, but Sven looks like he's practically dying!"_

Train frowned. He had decided not to tell Annette then and there that if she didn't help, in his current state Sven would be dying real soon. As it was, when she'd found out what was going on, it had been a frantic state to get Sven tended too. For at least two hours Annette had closed off a room by herself and didn't let either of the sweepers inside until she had finished.

That had been hours ago and still none of them had gotten any sleep since it took all night not only to stabilize Sven with Annette's comparatively mediocre skills, but their explanation was a pretty drawn out one two.

"You should be taking a nap right now." Train looked up from his milk to see Annette setting down a tray of sandwiches. She took a seat beside him, sighing. "You're worried I know, but right now Sven just needs to sleep. And so you you."

Train nodded, his mind already half shut off from lack of sleep and energy. "I know." His gaze shifted to the smaller form that lay asleep on the short sofa adjacent to Sven's bed. "Poor princess... she was so worried. But I guess her body finally gave out. It's probably a good thing that she's sleeping."

Both fell silent as they looked at Sven. He was rather pale, bangs falling gently over both closed eyes. On the nightstand beside the bed lay his hat and eye patch, neither one currently necessary.

"I don't know if I told you..." Annette piped up. "But... I managed to remove the bullet." Train's eyes widened. It was a scary thing to think about it, but Annette had been a sweeper for a long time before retiring. If you needed medical care without a proper doctor, she was the one to do it.

"It's a good thing I took a medical course all those years ago." She smiled slightly, taking a folded piece of cloth from inside her apron pocket. "If I had known about all the trouble you three would get into, I would have taken the advanced course."

She handed Black cat the cloth and he carefully unfolded it, revealing a rather strange looking bullet. It was around the usual size size, but a little longer than most average bullets and it felt too light.

"It was in pretty deep, but I was able to remove it, hopefully without hurting Sven." Annette continued. "He's lost quite a bit of blood too and if Sven's breathing gets worse, you two will have to take him to a hospital. If push comes to shove, I'll see what I can do to help with the bills."

Train stared at her for a moment, true care in his eyes. "You don't know what this means. I hate to get all emotional, but Eve will certainly be happy to hear that. Thanks Annette, I knew you would help." He looked ready to crash then and there, the relief only exhausting him further.

Annette got up, sighing out of exhaustion as opposed to exasperation. "Well, Sven and I are old chums and he's helped me on occasion as well." She started stacking the dishes onto the tray before walking over to Eve and carefully covering her with a blanket.

"If anything starts to happen, you come and get me, got it?" Black cat nodded, leaning back in his chair. He could barely make out the sound of the door closing as Annette left. His mind drifted and no matter how worried he was, sleep would no longer stay away. The wooden chair he currently resided in wasn't exactly comfortable, but apparently his body didn't care at that moment.

Before he knew it, he was fast asleep, leaning against the wall and snoring softly. The entire room was quiet now and when Annette came to finish cleaning and saw them, she simply smiled and left as silently as possible.

It wouldn't last however. Black cat was trained well and so was awake and alert in a seconds notice when he suddenly heard a gasp. He bolted upright, nearly knocking the chair over in his haste. This sent a rush of pain to his back which clearly didn't like sleeping in such an odd position.

"Dammit..." he cursed, angry at himself for having fallen asleep. He was supposed to be watching over Sven and the princess! There wasn't any time for napping. Massaging his shoulder slightly, he tried to figure out what had awoken him.

Before he could get around to actually smacking himself out of annoyance though, he heard another shuddering gasp from across the room and instantly went to Sven's side.

"Sven? Hey, can you hear me, are you alright?" His partner remained completely unresponsive to his words, however it appeared as if his mind was active. Train didn't dare touch him for fear of causing any pain.

Sven's pale hands clutched at the covers, his eyebrows knit together as his eyes moved back and forth furiously behind closed lids. It looked almost as if he were having some sort of nightmare.

"Annette!" Train called in a state of half panic. "Annette, I think something's wrong!" There was a cry from behind him and Train realized too late that his shouting had woken eve.

"Train what's wrong?" She pulled the covers off and got up from the sofa, hurriedly joining Train at the bedside. Sven was in bad shape, his currently unbuttoned long sleeved blue shirt showing the bandages that completely covered his chest.

Sven's breathing quickened, growing raspy, and his hands began to shake. There were footsteps and Annette entered, worry all over her face. "What is it?" She asked. Before either could speak, she was at Sven's side, checking his pulse.

She moved untidy bangs aside and laid a hand on Sven's forehead. "He doesn't have a fever, but he feels cold and his heart rate is elevated." She looked him over, then turned back to Train. "Is he responding at all to either of you?"

Train shook his head. "No, I tried to talk to him but I think he's still out. Must be some kind of subconscious thing. If he were dreaming, then he'd be able to wake up right?" Annette didn't answer which only worried the two comrades further.

"I read that these symptoms can be caused by shock." Eve was clutching one of Sven's hands in both of her own. "The body gets cold, pulse is weak and rapid, blood pressure is below normal..." With each textbook statement her voice became less and less controlled.

"We need to get him to a hospital now!" Annette said, searching for the phone. Just as she was about to dial, everything seemed to stop. Sven's breathing calmed and began to even out, his pulse returning to normal.

Train looked from eve to Annette in complete confusion. "What is going on?" He demanded, worry coming out in the form of anger. The elder woman could only stare for a moment, slowly lowering the phone.

"T-Train..." Everyone froze, turning to the occupant of the bed. Sven's hand still clutched the bedsheets, his knuckles white from the effort. Though he had spoken, it did not appear that he was awake yet.

"What's happening?" Eve whispered, looking to her other partner for an answer.

Train, however, could only shake his head, eyes fixed on Sven. "I don't know princess, I really don't know." It was clear though that something was going on inside of Sven's mind. They just didn't know _what._

X X X

"_Please don't notice anything..."_

"I assume," Sephiria began, "That you all are aware of the events leading to the recent death of-" There was the sound of a large door creaking open noisily and Sephiria Arks stopped her speech, every head in the room turning to the figure in the entrance.

Jenos froze in his comical creeping, the door only just ajar enough for him to squeeze through. For a moment he remained in this odd position of elbows lifted up with one foot on the floor and the other stretched out in front of him.

"Hazard." From Belze Rochefort just that one statement could hold so much weight in it. Jenos immediately stood up straight, entered and quickly but calmly closed the large double doors behind himself. He seemed to have regained his composure as he approached the podium slightly and bowed to the heads of the Chronos numbers.

Once again Belze spoke in place of Sephiria who, regardless, seemed completely unfazed by this interruption. "Hazard, might I ask why you have failed to arrive to this meeting on time even though all of the other Chronos numbers are present?"

Jenos didn't show any outwards sign of movement, but his eyes strayed on the nine men that stood in uneven rows before the podium. He knew some personally, and others not at all. They had already found a replacement for Beluga.

They still had refused to replace Black cat, but the place of number XI was easily filled. His eyes narrowed slightly in the direction of the new comer, anger rising. But, he did not let anyone see this.

Regardless of the questioning stares of nearly every occupant, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, grinning. "Sorry." he said, quickly finding his place among the others. "I had some... things to do."

He could hear as some whispers went through the attendants, but it passed quickly enough. Once more, everyone was settled in and so from one of the three large screens behind Sephiria, Lord Wilzark spoke up. "Very well, if you would please continue Madame Arks."

Sephiria gave a curt nod and spoke once more. Jenos sighed inwardly with some relief. There had been no further questions, so he was alright. Perhaps lady luck just had a certain fondness for him.

"You really ought to try harder not to be noticed next time." Beside him, Jenos heard the whispers of Xiao Li. They seemed to talk like this quite often. "Were you trying to be heard?" Jenos did not answer, only shrugged slightly.

Lin smile, his eyes searching Jenos, his curiosity wondering what had kept the man. His sigh strayed to a thin rip in one of Number VII's sleeves. _"I wonder...where he got that..." _He thought.

Completely oblivious to anything that had just transpired, once again Jenos found himself caught in a lecture that he had already heard before and his patience grew thin. He had never been one to talk things out to such an extent and lectures and meetings already bored him to tears the first time. Once was quite enough.

"_I'm tired of having to listen to the blathering of Chronos." H_is thoughts turned dark as his eyes focused on the images of the three elders._ "Come to think of it, there was a time when I admired them greatly. But now that I've been given a second look at things... I can see every flaw, every _weakness_ just by watching and listening."_

His eyes narrowed slightly. _"They have become as corrupt as any other organization that once held power." _These thoughts crawled through his mind like a vine, strangling any doubts he had once held. Oh yes... he was certain of it now.

He wouldn't let _that _happen again.

The Chronos numbers had been told beforehand that this meeting was held to discuss the appointment of a new member of Chronos, a man or woman who would also act as a mayor for a neighboring town.

It had seemed normal enough when he'd been here before, but not now. Cautious so as not to attract any unwanted attention, Jenos looked at every member of the numbers. They had no idea what was going on. Chronos had become weak...

That was why he wasn't planning on just mindlessly doing their petty bidding anymore. Things needed to be done, they needed to change... And so Jenos soon slipped back into thought, mind adrift, a frown on his face as he concentrated.

This did not however, go unnoticed by everyone in the room. Standing next to Sephiria but not speaking, Belze had caught it when Jenos's gaze seemed to become unfocused. Hazard was clearly not listening to a word being spoken. Such an annoyance at times, that one…

He would just have to talk with him about his duties to Chronos once the meeting had adjourned. Of course, things never went as planned. After about an hour, the meeting was finally over.

"You are all excused now." Sephiria said. "Please return to your duties." A collective sigh seemed to fill the room. Not vocally of course, that would be terribly _disrespective_ . But it was clear that these meetings weren't exactly a favorite past time of anyone in attendance.

Just as Belze made his way down the few small steps from the podium to the floor, every single Chronos number but himself and Sephiria made their way quickly to the door. Trying to be polite, as he should, he had to wait for them to pass. On the other hand… someone else was not making for the main entrance either.

Jenos quickly and almost unnoticeably, save for his footsteps on the polished marble floors, slipped past everyone, going in the opposite direction. There was a much smaller door far to the back that was hidden behind a set of long and decorative scarlet curtains.

Number VII easily disappeared behind it without a sound before Belze could get to him. There was no use in it now… if Jenos wanted to get away then he could be as silent and fast as a cat. Especially… a _certain _cat…

Number II frowned, but turned and made for the now empty doorway, the room clear of anyone but the screens with the three elders. It appeared Sephiria had left as well, duties needing to be attended to.

"Rochefort… wait a moment please." Belze paused, turning back. Lord Wilzark and the others were looking at him, expecting him to stay.

He adjusted Gungnir's weight on his back slightly and, bowing, approached the podium once more, standing just at the foot of the short stairs.

"What is this about?" He asked politely, straightening. It was not very often that he was spoken to by the elders of Chronos alone, even without Sephiria. Obviously whatever this was, it was important.

All three men stared down at him sagely. "It is concerning Number VII, Jenos Hazard." Belze kept his face passive, but inside his mind was reeling. What did they want with Jenos? Perhaps they had sent him somewhere on a confidential mission, which would account for his lateness.

Still… he was puzzled. "Hazard sir?" Belze questioned. "I understand if you have concern for his lateness this evening, and I assure you that I was about to confront him on this matter once he'd been located." His gaze broke for a moment, passing over the second doorway.

The leader of the three aged men shook his head. "No, that is not all." He seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, though a face could be hard to read when it was made up of pixels.

"Surely you would have noticed." One of the other two men asked. "Mister Hazard has been acting peculiar as of late for days now. He has not been attending to his duties properly, showing up late and on occasion not at all for meetings, and has been disappearing without cause only to turn up later as if nothing had passed."

Belze could feel what was coming next in his bones even before it was said. "We fear that something is amiss."

"Amiss?" Number II repeated, gesturing widely with both arms. "Such as? If you believe that Number VII is planning something then what?" He shook his head. "No… surely not _Jenos_…"

He was, however, interrupted as Wilzark raised a hand for silence. "I understand that you think highly of such a prized associate, and I respect this camaraderie." His face grew solemn now.

"However, I must ask you to keep an eye on him and report any actions to us that would be considered… unusual. Should anything go wrong, you are to confront Mister Hazard." The old man stared Belze down from the large screen. "Hopefully he won't do anything… _rash_."

Number II raised an eyebrow. "You mean to say that you believe he is planning to defect as Black cat did all those years ago?" he asked, keeping his tone even so as not to tread on unwelcome ground.

There was a dreadful silence for what seemed like an eternity as the elders just looked at the Chronos number. It felt like a wall had been put up between them. Finally, lord Wilzark spoke.

"Yes." He said calmly, though his frown betrayed him. "Except, I have a feeling that it is not for the same reasons that Mister Heartnet did. Number VII seems to be distancing himself from everyone. See to it that it does not happen with you." It was said in such a way that left no room for further comments.

"Oh and you know of course that this is to be told to know one." Orders were orders, and there was nothing that Belze could do about them.

"Very well." He bowed once again and, opening the large double doors, left without even a second glance at the three bright screens. For the moment, he needed time to think. The doors closed loudly, leaving behind an almost cold feeling in the air.

X X X

"So… they do know more than they let on. " Jenos pulled his ear away from the small door. He'd waited and listened, hoping that something might happen. He had been right. The moment the elders told Belze to wait, he had been sure that something was definitely up.

But now, Jenos was going to have Chronos Number II trailing him. He would have to be a lot more devious in order to avoid detection. For the moment thought there was something he needed to take care of. "If I know Belze, he won't just keep this to himself, no matter what the elders say." He grinned, slinking down the dark hall, fallowing the distant voices.

"And that means…"

X X X

As soon as the door closed, Belze Rochefort let out a deep sigh. He knew that there was a chance that something was going on but to spy on someone like Jenos… it just felt wrong. The kid had a soft spot for the ladies and children as well, so perhaps he actually_ was_ planning on leaving.

But after what the elders had said… He closed his eyes a moment, frowning. _'I have a feeling that it is not for the same reasons that Mister Heartnet did '_. But what did they mean...?

"Belze? Is something wrong?" The man opened his eyes to see Sephiria looking at him worriedly. There were papers in her hands so obviously she had been in the middle of something before finding him. They had known each other a long time and she could tell when he was upset by something.

Belze shook his head. "Just tired I suppose." He said, planning to leave it at that. But then a thought came to him. Why shouldn't Sephiria know? After all she was the head of the Chronos numbers, so what reason would Lord Wilzark have to keep it from her?

It would be directly disregarding orders… but perhaps this once it was necessary. "No.. actually, I fear something is wrong my old friend." His guard seemed to drop as the two quickly found a quiet place to talk. An empty room did the trick, and Belze locked the door in case of interferences.

The lights were all off, instead light came from the large unveiled windows on one side of the room. An eerie aura seemed to be coming from them, perfect for what Belze was going to say.

"I am going against the direct orders of Lord Wilzark by telling you any of this." He said, sitting down opposite Sephiria. "But I feel it is better if you are aware of a few things."

He explained what he had been told and ordered to do as quickly and efficiently as possible, all the while Sephiria simply listened silently. As he continued thought, her expression became more and more troubled.

When the explanation was finished, a silence fell over the two. "Belze…" It had been at least a minute before anyone had spoken. "Do you, _personally_, believe that Jenos is up to something?" Her tone was calm and very reserved as she spoke, looking her comrade in the eyes.

"…No." Belze answered firmly. "I do not believe that Hazard is capable of anything that the elders suggested. However…" His eyes narrowed in thought, chin resting on his closed fingers. "He _has_ seemed rather distant for the past week." He closed his eyes a moment, sighing inwardly.

Sephiria nodded solemnly. "I agree." For a moment she seemed a bit unsure of what she was going to say next.

"Something wrong?"

The woman gave a sigh. "I fear that there may be some truth in what the elders told you. I have faith in Number VII but… Well the last mission we were assigned to a few days ago didn't go as it had been planned."

Belze gestured for her to continue. "Whilst carrying out our duties, Jenos seemed so cold toward everyone and everything. Just as Heartnet had a certain fondness for women and children, we all know Jenos did as well."

Belze allowed a small chuckle to escape his lips. "Especially the women."

Sephiria nodded, no humor in her eyes. "Yes. However, the other day when we fought though he did not kill any of the assigned targets, understandable of course..." This made sense. Ever since the incident with Creed and the apostles, Chronos had allowed the Numbers to choose whether or not to kill a target or simply make them do as ordered by force.

"When I saw Jenos fighting the men, there was nothing there. He always had a spark, a sort of flashy way of doing things. This time he was simple, clean, and efficient… _Cold and calculating_. I had never seen him like that."

Belze turned away, his hand gripping the handle of Gungnir as he looked out the room's only windows into the slightly illuminated darkness. "Perhaps you are correct. Alright then, as I am ordered to watch Hazard, I will. If you do the same, then perhaps we can learn more together."

The two stood up, making for the door. Holding the handle, but not leaving yet Sephiria shook her head. "I agree. We shall report anything that we find out to each other after all missions have been completed for the day."

Belze put a hand on her shoulder. "Perhaps it would be best that way. Then, we can decide whether or not something should be reported to the elders." They both knew what he meant. If Jenos was planning something against Chronos's wishes, then Lord Wilzark may decide that he would be of no more use to them.

Without any further words, the two left the secluded room in silence, heading in opposite directions. As soon as Belze was out of sight, Sephiria returned her attention to the papers she'd been carrying, rounding a corner.

"Lovely evening, wouldn't you say?" Number I calmly cast her gaze upward, coming to a halt as she saw the person before her. "Right… _Sephi_?"

Jenos was smiling as he leaned against the wall. As Sephiria's gaze met his own, he waved, wiggling the tips of his finger up and down.

"Hi~!"

Sephiria's eyes narrowed as he straightened, putting his hands in his pockets, and coming closer. "Hazard." She said, her voice sounding no different than usual,though her arms tensed slightly. "Is there something you need?"

X X X

"Do you believe he will do as you have ordered Lord Wilzark?" The three black screens in front of the elderly men were black now, the connection severed. In their own location, all three sat together in a semi circle, the place far too quiet. The room was rather dim now that the light of the screens had disappeared, and other than the three of them, they were completely alone.

The first question temporarily lay unanswered as Wilzark decided to ask a question of his own instead. "How long will it be?" His associates turned to each other, seeming to consult silently together.

"My lord, it shouldn't be too much longer... as long as everything goes well." The shorter of his advisers answered. "Though under the circumstances it is not likely that-" His leader however cut him off.

"That was not part of my question." He said. "Besides... I have complete faith in this. Do not worry, it will succeed just as I have said." Now the man sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Either way, very good thank you." He must have been stressed, for he corrected himself now, sounding sincere.

"I just hope that young Mister Hazard does not defect as Heartnet did before everything is finished." This granted him dual nods from the other two elders.

"I agree." The other adviser spoke now. "Though it did no damage when number XIII left Chronos, should Hazard become anything like that Diskenth man..." He trailed off, shaking his head.

"Indeed." Wilzark seemed lost in thought. "But, there is no need to fear. I have ordered Rochefort to fallow him, and I have every faith in Number II. I have no doubt that he will succeed, and it will be better for everyone if Hazard is taken care of. Then there are no unnecessary deaths."

There was a pause. "But... should Rochefort fail...?"

With a slight swish of his long robes, Lord Wilzark stood, hands folded behind his back as he moved forward, staring at the blackened screens. "As I said, do not worry." He turned back, nodding to the other men. "I have every faith in _all_ the members of the Chronos numbers."

X X X

Sephiria inwardly warned herself to calm down when Jenos stopped in front of her. He seemed like his normal self right now, laid back, always cocky in that skirt-chaser kind of manner, a smile on his features that said luck was a close friend.

However on this night, his eyes betrayed his calm demeanor. Once warm and brown with that spark that only Jenos could have, they now seemed to lay deep inside themselves, hiding inner thoughts. He was clearly shielding his intentions and she could see in those eyes secrets, dark and cold, that were not meant be shared. It was as if he had seen things, perhaps even _done_ things, that know one would ever know of.

When he did not answer her, she repeated the question, a bit more firmly this time. "Is there something you need Number VII?"

He chuckled slightly, shaking his head. "Sephi, really. I am _ashamed_. Referring to me by _number_? I thought we were on friendlier terms. You know I prefer _Jenos_." His tone was playful, but not necessarily in his usual way. It was almost as if he were goading her on.

Sephiria held her ground, lowering the papers she held. "Mister Hazard, you have failed to answer my question." She stated evenly. "You appeared to be waiting for me, and as I am here you might as well inform me as to why you were fallowing me."

Jenos raised an eyebrow. "My you really are a perceptive one. I can't help it, when I see a lady, I just have to _get close_." He leaned in towards her, flashing perfect white teeth in a dazzling smile.

"I just wanted to talk, that's all." He said, running a finger under her chin. Sephiria's skin crawled but she didn't flinch in the slightest, instead her body stiffened almost unnoticeably and she carefully grabbed Jenos by the wrist, removing his hand.

"I'm afraid that I am very busy at the moment." She gestured slightly with the slightly crinkled papers. "If you will excuse me." Sephiria started to walk past him, but his hand caught her wrist the moment they had become parallel.

Jenos's eyes were hidden by the shadows of his bangs which now fell close to his face. His grip was tighter than should have been necessary and he smirked. He pulled her in closer, his words whispered darkly next to her ear.

"Don't think that I will sit around and let you and Belze have your way with me." Sephiria's eyes widened. "There is far too much at stake." The hallway was dark already but seemed to fill with shadows at his words, a chill creeping into the air.

Sephiria was about to speak, but he didn't give her a chance, pulling her in front of himself slightly and gently laying a single slender finger on her lips. His eyes narrowed as they met hers.

"I will warn you now Sephiria Arks. Don't get in my way." It came out as a hiss, whispered just loud enough for her, and no one else to hear. "I wouldn't want anything to... happen to you. I just couldn't bare it." he did not look her in the eye as the later part was said.

Sephiria glared at him as she heard the scornful tone. He smirked, then met her gaze once more with a glare of his own and, letting her wrist go with a shove, put his hands back into his pockets. As if nothing had transcended between the two, Jenos raised a hand and waved, smiling happily.

"Pass that on to Belze for me will you?" he said in a normal tone. It was quite clever. Any passerby wouldn't suspect a thing. As the man disappeared behind a set of doors Sephiria held her wrist with the other hand.

It didn't hurt physically, but now...

"Don't worry hazard." She murmured to herself, a hand going to the hilt of Ichthus. "I have every intention of passing this on..."

X X X

* * *

** A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I also hope it gave you a few more questions about where everyone stands ;) Not a lot of Train, Sven, or Eve in this Chapter, but that's next! (I can assure you that i can't wait!) I had to give you a little more to go on on Jenos's side. Anyways, chapter 3 will come as soon as possible. Please read and review!**


	4. Chapter III

**A/N: Dearest readers! Gomen nasai! I'm sorry this chapter took so long, but it took a lot of extra writing, re-reading, revising, and ordering! I hope you enjoy it and I made sure it was extra long since you waited for such a long time! ^_^ We finally get back to Train and company!**

**Disclaimer: Black cat is property of Kentaro Yabuki. (Aren't disclaimers just swell?)**

* * *

Chapter III

He should have liked to enter silently, and indeed he should have been permitted to do so. Instead, the floors beneath his treading feet had been polished to perfection and so did not allow for such a luxury. No, in place of silence, his every footstep resounded with a soft clacking.

He approached the wall that was lined with screens, each currently displaying only a blank whitewash. So much more could be revealed however, when the right person was at the controls. His fingers lingered over the cold keys on the board, mind searching through ideas and possibilities.

"Let's just hope I've learned anything over the years..." Jenos let out a sigh, murmuring this to himself. The darkness was cut away by the blazingly pure white from the monitors, though in a room of such length, shadows still slipped in to line every wall.

The database lay bare at his fingertips, and he began his search, delving into deeper files than the average documentation, skimming through hidden folders, looking for back doors inside.

Words and images scrolled past at his command, his eyes alight as they dashed back and forth. There were millions of files on any subject you could need. Chronos was the most well equipped organization of information the world could offer.

But he wasn't looking for the whereabouts of a lost governor or data on strange stock failings at the Patton and Liebrecht banking firm... No, he wanted information on one subject, and one _alone_. Those files, however, were far harder to come across. From what he had learned in the past, and the present, the very thing he searched for, Chronos wanted to hide more than any other.

For who would wish for the world to know of their most glorious moment of complete failure?

"Nothing..." He cursed under his breath, a hand combing through his hair nervously. Time ticked by relentlessly, and still he was unable to find a single article of information. The longer he stayed, the greater the risk became. If he did not find something soon...

Seconds became minutes as he continued, scrutinizing every file and program, hacking deeper into the database. Still nothing surfaced... His mind raced, fingertips flying across keys, his ears alert for any sign of a guest.

Finally, such actions paid off. Jenos's shoulders relaxed as he found what he had searched for. This had to be what he had come for, as eight bright red letters now stood between him and his goal.

PASSWORD

The single word blinked in and out, flashing silently across the screens. Jenos bit his lip, glaring at the monitors that now cast a scarlet glow over his features. "That's Chronos for you, all the information you want at your fingers, yet still completely inaccessible." His frustration was evident and his fists clenched.

The password... what could it be? These files should have been old, but it could have easily been changed in recent years. The folder itself which he wished to access was named simply enough..._Project Chronos: Datafile 1, Pass code access only._

This _was_ what he needed, but could he reach that which seemed to always dangle but a few inches from his grasp? Jenos turned around, making sure once more that he remained alone inside the dark room.

Reigning in his tempter, the man tried to focus. What would Chronos use as a password for such a file? He wasn't a psychologist and therefore could not evaluate the inner workings of the minds behind the organization. Would it be simple or ornate, long or short, completely off the wall or perhaps relating to the files themselves...? How would _he_ be able to tell such things?

Suddenly his eyes widened, a possibility coming to mind. _Could it really be that simple?_ He couldn't be sure that he knew Chronos well enough to make a good enough guess... and should he fail, it was likely an alarm would sound off.

He had one chance only... and would it be enough? These were the remaining questions. Still, his idea refused to leave his mind no matter how he tried to think of other possibilities for the code.

"I've been here too long already..." He mused to himself, his fingers hovering over the proper keys. It wasn't likely that anyone would arrive, as he'd used just this time when everyone was out attending to their duties.

But just in case... "Lady luck is a fickle creature, but perhaps she'll leave a kiss for me just this once." Jenos was determined and would not bend, nor stray from his task. After what he'd gone through already, this little bit of nerve rattling was child's play.

The light from the screens illuminated his dark eyes, their color now tainted to a mahogany red. He typed in the four letters that would either help or hinder his entire operation. Just one word which held so much power and meaning...

T I M E.

His resolve wavered for just a moment as his index finger hovered above the _Enter_ key. Shaking his head, Jenos jammed down on the button hard, his eyes closing as he waited... An artificial voice drawled out to him in a blank tone.

"Access... _Granted_." His eyes flashed open and relief washed over him, a smile spreading over his lips. The files were now before him and jenos immediately started to descend upon the titles, reading at great speeds.

There were subcategories and folders to be looked at, each labeled according to their contents. Windows started popping up as he opened the main folder, flashing faster than his eyes could follow.

"Dammit..." Jenos immediately began quickly reading over the titles and either minimizing or exiting the pages completely. There were things such as a file with dates, which he found meaningless, staff listings, area codes... nothing he could use at that moment.

He did however, notice something strange. The files were in order of date, and as he exited the oldest ones, the dates became more and more recent, some being either entered or updated within the past five ears. Compared to the original data, that was pretty new.

"Why are these so recent...?" Jenos began skimming over the names of these files, when some more curious ones caught his attention. He brought up the window, making it his current focus.

"Chronos Project : Shinktu Prototype 1." he read aloud. " _Shinktu._.. why does that sound familiar?" He couldn't place the name at that moment. "Though I don't really have any extra time... it does sound promising." Jenos muttered quietly to himself all the while, opening the file.

A screen appeared, filled with complex equations and symbols scrawling across. It looked to be some kind of formula. There was a second window that came next. It was smaller and contained a photograph instead.

A small and oddly shaped bottle was covered in long notes of paper, each one scrawled with symbols unknown to the Chronos Number who viewed them now. Inside was a red liquid for there were other images as well, showing extensive views of the bottle and, in a clear container, its liquid.

Jenos's eyes widened as his memory finally awoke. "Wait a moment... Shinktu, as in from the Apostles of the Star?" The very same bottle that Chronos had been researching for so long was shown in front of him now.

He changed expressions to glowering. "What do they want with the Tao elixir?" he mumbled, trying to make sense of the notes that surrounded the image. There were various items of interest and he read through them quickly.

"Consistency, bio ratios, filtering, concentration levels ..." The farther along he went, the worse it began to sound. They were doing something... something _dangerous_. Jenos began copying files onto a disk he inserted, searching through the rest once more.

If he was correct, this had everything to do with what he was seeking.

The next files appeared and he was only drawn in further. It showed a gun and a peculiar looking bullet, beside which showed ratios for some kind of formula. This he copied as well, hoping to use it to find out more. Further he searched, the mystery still growing.

"Chronos Project Subfile: A. Pre-production former studies." He smiled. It was a good thing that everything here was so conveniently labeled. Otherwise his search would never be finished!

Jenos rarely blinked as he scanned through page after page, words passing his vision by the thousands. Minutes still continued to creep by while he took in as much information as possible.

After what felt like ages, he let out a deep sigh. "So... that's it." He whispered. "It certainly explains a few.. _events_. Including some of what happened at the warehouse." He nodded to himself, confirming the idea as he recalled the scene that had played for the second time.

Yet still this wasn't enough. He couldn't get the thing he wanted fallowing only this. That was _past _experimentation, ideas and projects that had ultimately failed. No... he wanted to know what was going to happen _now_.

"Just one more..." It had been far too long. He needed to leave as soon as possible, but not until he'd finished... he just couldn't leave now after what he'd already read...

A large image popped up along with schematics and full body shots of someone he recognized. Slender fingers froze as a live feed came up on its own, showing a machine that could only be for torture, a limp form strapped to it.

Tubes and wires protruded from seemingly every inch of the figure's body, a pale and corpse like hand visible beneath long robes. The files that accompanied it gave him all the information he needed. Perhaps he would make it out in time still...

"Their extracting it by force..." When he realization came he actually gulped, experiencing a feeling he'd seldom had as he looked at the fluid that slid through the tubes. "The concentration level is _off the charts_, if someone were to actually have to _drink_ that..." His eyes fell on a smaller section of data, a name, age and current residence address written in quite recently.

The room seemed to become colder than before when he read the name. "So... that's what happened." he said. "This explains what was going on last time... and they just did it again." His fists clenched slowly, anger going through his veins like fire. He highlighted everything and set it to copy the files.

Just as his hand reached for the disk, his ears caught the sound of what he feared most... _footsteps_. Jenos took out the disk slowly and, breathing in deeply but silently, gently rested his hands against the console, keeping his demeanor calm.

"So, it would seem that this is where you have been hiding... _Hazard_." Belze Rochefort stood at least ten feet away, shadows casting dark lines across his face. It may have been only a few feet, but to the two men from whom it was formed, the area between was nearly a canyon.

Two worlds, completely separate, but always trying to clash. Jenos stood up straight and his shoulders shook gently as he chuckled softly, slowly turning to face the one by whom he'd been caught.

He raised his hands in the air with a sheepish grin. "You got me." the smile changed quickly, spreading across his face like a poison. "What now _Belze_...? Going to arrest a fellow Chronos Number?" His laughing tone vanished as a single hand lowered, snaking behind his back.

Without even turning away from the gaze he now held, Jenos's fingers hit various keys and files began to close on the screens, saving and minimizing before disappearing completely. Unfortunately for him though, the process was a slow one.

Belze's own expression was serious but turned far more grim as his eyes glanced over what lay on the monitors. "Hazard..." he snapped, alarmed at what he saw."What on earth have you been looking at?" The extent of the other man's research was not as clear to Number II as he would of liked, but he had certainly seen enough as the torture device flashed its way across the screens.

"I don't want anything to be misinterpreted here Hazard, as you are a fellow comrade. Please explain to me honestly... what has been going on for the past few days? Are you going to defect from Chronos as the Elder's say?"

He knew the moment he let those words slip, that it would have been best for them to have not been said at all. Belze had wanted to make Jenos understand that he had his best interest in mind, but Number VII's face grew dark at the comment.

Silence draped over the two allies, not like a silken scarf, but a smothering wave. Jenos rested his hand in one pocket, the fingers slipping out of view in seconds. "Sorry big guy... But I can't tell you that." His motives were hidden beneath a clear and even tone, eyes downcast and covered by shadows once more.

Jenos's body language on the other hand, was very clear to any observer. He wanted nothing to do with this newcomer, and clearly wished that Belze had never arrived in the first place. He wasn't going to allow anyone to tell him what to do, and was prepared to fight for that very right.

Composing himself as the Chronos Number he was, Belze took a step closer almost unnoticeably. "Please... Jenos, I don't wish to fight you here. Chronos no longer holds complete sway over our every action, we have more freedom now! As your comrade and a fellow Number I ask that you please-" But he cut off as his vision registered what had just flickered onto the monitors.

Train Heartnet and his companions were displayed along with their current information,pictures provided from front to back. Beside that data, there was a screen shot of the Taoist and former apostle of the star, Shiki. Her mask was off and other images showed pictures taken of her as well as , strangely enough, the explosion at the old Chronos base only a day or two ago. These images even Belze himself had not seen, though the organization had supposedly shown all the information found to its associates.

He could see the sweepers, all three of them amidst the rubble and debris, smoke wafting in the backdrop. That man in the hat, Heartnet's partner, he had gotten _shot _by someone. Why was none of this ever shown?

Worse yet, next popped up a screen with a closer image of the injury as well as a detailed profile on mister Vollfied and what appeared to be records on the Vision eye. Such peculiar files to be kept all together...

A soft clinking noise reached his ears, and Belze was jolted back, his guard once again up as he shifted his gaze to Jenos. Excelion was now adorning the man's hand as Jenos flexed his taloned fingertips.

Suddenly the screen went black, the computer emitting a loud beep before it flashed on again, whitewashed once more. "Well what do you know." Jenos grinned to himself. "Looks like I broke it." he appeared pleased with his work as a finger tugged at Excelion's wrist band, making sure it was secured firmly on his right hand.

"Sorry, but I'd rather you not get involved in any of this." A dangerous edge crept into his voice, so much so that he almost seemed to waver for a moment. "Someone could get unnecessarily hurt. I'm sure both of us here wouldn't want that... right?"

A scraping sound was heard as Gungnir traced a circle in the floor, its wrappings dispelled by their owner. Belze narrowed his eyes slowly. "That was not the response I was looking for. Besides, I don't take kindly to threats from _anyone_." His spear twisted in his hands, a firm grip holding the object aloft.

His tone took on that of one laying down a final sentence. "By order of lord Wilzark, I am to take you in for questioning... be it willingly or otherwise." he waited a moment, taking in Jenos's response.

"Oh really?" It was less of a question and more of a direct defiance against his accuser. Jenos's tone began to sound more and more dangerous with each spoken phrase, the words slipping through partially clenched teeth.

"You have the option to come quietly, and I would greatly prefer it." Rochefort offered. "Though _force_ has always been known to be an option among our people here." He would rather it not come to such actions, but Wilzark had been right to be wary of this possible traitor, and Jenos had to understand that he meant business.

Number VII however lowered his gloved hand, shaking his head almost sorrowfully. "Sadly I can't do that, because you see, I have a lady that I have to meet with." He grinned. "Not that she's actually expecting my company though..."

Belze cocked an eyebrow warily at the remark. "Hate to do this old friend," Jenos continued, the words setting off a dozen warning bells in the mind of Number II. "But you really don't leave me any other alternative at the moment."

There was a brilliant flash of silver as Jenos flicked his wrist, the monitors bright light reflecting off of the wires. In another moment, rubble now lay strewn across once untarnished flooring, a wall no longer standing.

"I would say 'see you later'... but I don't plan on it." Belze stood in shock as Jenos made a run for his newly made exit. The young man did not vanish immediately, instead appearing to spot something and looking back.

Belze was puzzled but it soon passed and Jenos, his eye glaring past his newly appointed enemy for a few seconds. "So, looks like you did show up here my mysterious friend... I wondered if and when I would cross paths again." Without another uttered word, he disappeared into the dark halls of the almost deserted Chronos compound.

Belze was snapped from his stupor as he realized that his prey had just escaped from his clutches without even a fight. "What did I just do?" he gasped, inwardly scolding himself. His orders had been clear, apprehend Jenos no matter what...

He had failed.

What would the elders say? He had to tell them after all.... He would not lie to his superiors. A hand went to his forehead as he let out a deep sigh. It had been true, Jenos... after he had seen the look in the young man's eyes...

"What has happened to you?" He wondered aloud, rubbing his eyes as if to rid them of their weariness as he leaned heavily on his precious spear.

"Well what do you know... this was interesting, just as I expected." Belze whipped around, Gungnir immediately ready at moment's notice. Weary or not, he was alert instantaneously, the spear tip already pointed in the direction the voice had come from.

A figure stood in the the shadows, his form leaning against one wall. It was hard to distinguish many features, but the build was spotted easily enough. Belze could recognize the body structure of every member of Chronos, and this was no exception.

"What are you doing here?" He asked bluntly, anger already boiling through him. He had enough to deal with as it was...

The silhouette shook as the man laughed. "I am merely an observer, as I was the day that your former member and his friends nearly went up in smoke with that warehouse." He slunk closer, eyes beginning to become visible under the soft light.

Belze didn't like the way this man had managed to sneak up on him... it was _unusual_. "Did lord Wilzark send you, or did you come here for your own gain?" he asked almost accusingly. "I can't imagine how you learned so much, though every member of Chronos is skilled in their own ways."

He received a nod. "You could put it that way yes... though I have my own special ways of knowing things that others can not and will not. Ways you might not expect or understand." An air of mystery certainly followed this person, though it was far greater than anyone else Belze knew.

"I would guess you found whatever it is you came for?" He was treading dangerous ground, he could feel it. But Belze had to ask the question, after all perhaps this person would let something slip.

"Oh indeed, I learned more than enough." The silhouetted from said, starting to leave now, the shadows almost appearing to fallow his every footstep. "I do hope the Elders aren't too angry with you for failing Belze." he added, the door opening at his touch.

"It would be sch a shame. But for now, we'll just have to see what Jenos Hazard does next." He disappeared, the door closing behind him. Belze raised one brow questioningly as his eyes narrowed in suspicion.

He'd have to keep an eye on this one... definitely. But for now, he had to go and face his superiors and hope that they did not decide that his failings were to large a sin to undo.

X X X

He felt... _warm_. Such a comforting feeling as the gentle heat seemed to soak into his skin. That was... odd. Last he could remember there had been an explosion and...

He tried to move, but instead gasped slightly as pain shot through his back. He immediately ceased all movement save for breathing, and the pain slowly died away. He remembered the rest now... Carter Jacoby, the gunshot... Oh yes... and he could recall what _else_ had happened.

A figure_ was hunched over consoles, a flash of something and blond locks splayed around a fallen figure... A familiar face standing over a body in shadow, sword clutched in hand, dripping scarlet... Swirling colors in an endless abyss..._

He felt his body involuntarily shiver. What had that been? It had seemed to clear and yet... could it have really been real? It couldn't have been, he'd never seen anything like that before...

"_Where am I?"_ Sven wondered aloud, realizing that all he could see was darkness. However, no words escaped his lips though he knew that he had clearly spoken. Another strange thing...

He tried once more and still no words came out. If he could not speak, did that mean he was unconscious? No... he had been unconscious many times before and had never felt like this. Could he be dreaming? That would explain how he could feel pain and yet see nothing... or did it?

Now his head was starting to hurt. That was great when added to the throbbing on the back of his shoulder. Well, unconscious or asleep, he had to find out what was going on sooner or later...or so his logical side said so.

So, Sven slowly opened his eyes and carefully sat up. It was strange enough finding that this was possible, it was even stranger when he realized what he was sitting on. He felt warmth on his shoulder and found a great sun in a cloudless blue sky.

Something soft was beneath his fingers and, looking down, Sven saw millions of thin green blades, crinkled beneath his palm.

"_Grass?"_ He pulled out a few blades and watched as the wind took them away. Such a strange thing, to see something a peaceful as grass on the wind when he was in such a disturbed state of mind.

Everything felt so surreal here. He could touch something, he could feel the breeze, and yet it didn't feel the same as it should have. Something about this place wasn't real. He couldn't possibly be in a field of grass right now.

"_This can't be real... I pass out from a bullet to the back, now I end up here! It's not as if I'm dead!" _He put a hand to his head as a wave of pain washed over him. What was he doing here? There were questions that he needed answering, people he needed to see... and here he was, sitting in a field in the middle of _nowhere_.

His headache was getting worse.. or was the pain real? It was a sharp pain that went from his right eye to his temple. Reaching up, he put a hand up, covering the Grasper eyes. His arm... it almost felt heavy somehow...

Suddenly a new sound joined those that drifted past his ears. It sounded oddly enough like the faint trickling of..._ water. _

Sven stood up gingerly and looked around. It seemed as if the scenery had changed slightly,almost modified on its own. There was now a small stream nearby, trickling softly down a gentle slope, into a large pool.

"_Huh?_" The pool seemed to be aglow, its surface churning and swirling yet, somehow unbroken. Curiosity getting the better of him, Sven walked over to it, trying to figure out why so many colors twisted inside what should have been a simple pond.

Kneeling beside it, Sven got a better look. From what he could see, the stream that fed such an extraordinary pool had simple water running through. So then how...? Figuring it couldn't hurt, he blew softly on the water's surface and gazed intently as it sent ripples across the pool.

"_...What is Chronos to you?"_

Sven stood up, and looked around at the sound of the spoken words around. What had that been? Words whispered on the breeze, yet there was no on there to have spoken them. But then where had they come from...?

Stranger things simply kept happening... Just as Sven turned back once more, something shimmered across the surface of the pool almost as if there was movement beneath the surface. Upon examination, it didn't look like there was anything below...

Something appeared once more, moving on the surface more so as opposed to under it, though the water itself remained undisturbed. Stranger still, the silhouetted image appeared to be.. a _person._

Sven bent down, looking closer. _"Is that...?" _he knew that face, though it was hard to say from where. It looked like that guy from Chronos... Belze was it? Yes that was it... Belze Rochefort or something like that. They'd met a few times, along with that Sephiria woman.

But why was he seeing this man he didn't really know inside a pond? Unless he was mistaken, but that regal looking suit with the long and combed blond hair... it certainly looked like Number II...

Overcome with a sudden sense of curiosity, Sven bent over the pool and gently placed his left hand on its surface, just light enough so as not to break through. The water felt cool against his fingertips, and he felt a sense of calm wash through him, the cold spreading from his fingers slowly upward.

"_Wait a moment..."_ It was as if an elephant's mighty feet had just shaken the earth as suddenly as large ripples burst across the pool's reflective surface. Sven made no movement as the water began to slosh, the disruption too great for him to have caused.

As if that weren't bad enough, light and colors started to swirl brightly across the water's c\surface as well, the whole image looking like fireworks being put through a tumbler. There was no movement at all beneath the sweeper's feet, but one by one Sven could feel each pulse at his fingertips as the ripples appeared on the water.

Everything seemed to spin for a moment and Sven clutched his right eyes with his other hand as pain shot through it inexplicably. His immediate instinct was to draw his hand away, but as he tried he found that no matter how hard he pulled, his hand stayed glued somehow to the water's surface.

Even stranger, he was now standing, the pond in front of him looking for all the world like an painter's bowl of water that had been turned on its side without spilling a drop.

He stopped his struggling when he noticed that his fingers were no longer on the water's surface. Sven watched a moment longer before realizing that his hand was slowly sinking, being pulled into the water.

"_Hey... let, let go!"_ he yelled, and yet still no words came out. Instead, he heard _other_ sounds. A mixture of speech and other noises, seeming to come from the porthole before him that slowly dragged his arm into its depths.

His vision flashed suddenly away from this scene, instead to another as pain jolted through his right eye. It was a laboratory, as far as Sven could tell. The room was rather dark and had machinery all around, though the initial size could not be determined due to lack of lighting.

An entire wall was filled with screens and a large desk like structure for the computer consoles and other equipment. Where was he? This place was one he'd never seen before, nor had he been to anything like it. A long red banner crossed an adjacent wall, but Sven couldn't read what was on it.

It was happening again, he realized. Just as before when the warehouse had gone up in smoke, he'd experienced the same pain... the same strange feelings as these places forced themselves before his eyes.

Just as he was starting to get a better idea of where he was, his senses were pulled back, standing before the pool once again. He gasped as his vision was torn between flashes of the water's chaotic surface, and of the laboratory, now containing occupants.

His arm was submerged almost to his elbow now and the farther in he was drawn into the opening, the more erratic the images became. It was dizzying, trying to fallow the snapshots that scrolled past.

Still farther he sank, drawing ever closer to being submerged entirely, only time telling how long it would be before his head went under the water. It was going to kill him unless insanity claimed his mind first from the overwhelming picture.

Now even when he closed his eyes darkness would not blanket his vision in its welcome grasp. Still the people and faces plagued him, scrawling first across the pool's shimmering face and then overpowering him in full.

"_So, it appears that they were correct in believing you to e up to something. I however, did not expect to find you here"_

Voices... he tried to concentrate on the full visions, hoping to see what was going on. There were people inside the room, facing each other. One was shadowed by the light that came from screens behind him, the other Sven recognized.

It was that man from Chronos, just as he had thought before. His Orichalcum spear was unwrapped, prepared at his side. There was a flash of red, and everything changed. Sven pulled against the liquid that now swirled out like tentacles, wrapping around his upper arm and pulling harder.

He could not resist it's grasp, and the water came closer and closer, now wrapping around the lower part of his leg. His struggling only made matters worse as he tripped and fell hard on his side,both legs now entangled.

"Train, eve!" he screamed with all his might, his knees already covered now. But no sound would come. He would be pulled in alone and without even the slightest aid. In this alien place of light and shadows, he had been completely deserted...

"_Sorry, but I'd rather you not get involved... otherwise someone will get unnecessarily hurt..."_

Had that been... Jenos? As if in answer to his silent question,Sven saw the same laboratory now lacking in one occupant, a side wall completely destroyed. Rubble was strewn across the floor and dust was still dispersing from some form of impact.

He was in up to his waist now, the visions flipping through faster and faster in a dizzying number. The wrecked room, a silhouette hovering in the shadows where no light could penetrate. Number II seemed surprised by the presence of another...

"_Do not worry, I am simply here as a spectator... to observe if you will. Perhaps you could have done better doing the same..."_

No... he didn't want to be lost! For whatever reason,Sven knew that if he was consumed there would he not turning back. He tried to fight, tried to grab a hold of whatever he could in the real world. No matter how he called out there were no words... there was no answer... and yet he still tried.

He could not speak, but that did not mean he would not be heard. He pleaded with all his heart that someone would reach out, give him something to grab a hold of... a lifeline in such a dark place....

"_That is even more insane. These things were never meant for us to harness... forever out of our ability to manipulate! Otherwise chaos would simply take over. We've known for a long time that there are too many loopholes, possibilities... too large a margin for error for us to try...!"_

Now words began to fade in and out as he struggled for freedom, his mind beginning to collapse in on itself. There was no going back, he could feel the heat of the liquid substance as it covered his chest, his one free arm still reaching out in vain.

He closed his right eye, trying to keep the pain at bay, but instead the visions seemed to only become worse. He was up to his neck now, senses dulling as he submerged into unknown waters.

But perhaps... There was still hope.

Sven felt something warm and gentle start to snake around his outstretched fingertips. Thins delicate vines were curling around his hand, pulling him carefully back to the earth. Where he'd once stood on shadows, now green grass spread forth from the roots of the delicate flowering plant.

"_What... is this?" _He did not know what this symbolized, or whether or not he could believe that this would save him,but somehow... those delicate little saplings felt safe. There was something still that bound him to this earth.

But now, it was a war. Sven gasped and coughed painfully as he felt something akin to fire shoot through his chest. Harder the vortex pulled to take him down, but those fragile looking vines would not cease. Now only his arm and head remained, and already shimmering tentacles were wrapping around his elbow.

Suddenly the gently glowing waters that had held him started to cloud over in black, like ink spilled into a glass of water, it tainted all it touched. No longer did he feel warmth from the pool that bound him, instead only an icy chill that crept over his body.

Inky waters dripped down his face on one side, running down like paint over the vision eye as the depths of hell got their way. He could feel it. Whatever power that was trying to take control, it was not something he could dare touch.

This was something evil, unnatural... yet all the power of life seemed to be contained inside this swirling mass. Compared to the warmth he felt of nature's gentle hands around his remaining fingers, this was a terrible creature.

"_If this thing is inside of me... then what is..." _His eyes looked to the saplings as a tiny pink flower bloomed amongst the green and brown.

Somehow he knew what this meant. If he was trapped inside of his own mind, then this one thing, it held him to reality. This gentle warmth, such tenderness when it was most needed. He knew what his mind was conveying, the reality behind an image it had created in order for him to comprehend.

"_Eve."_

As the realization hit him, so did something else. The coldness he'd felt covering him was now spreading up his arm. He tightened his fingers around the small plants that held them but, they began to recede.

"_No!" _His mind screamed as the delicate strands of green slowly drew back. He tried to reach out as they slunk away, hoping to grasp even a single strand. His fingertips brushed a few briefly, and then they were gone, shadows taking away and sign that they had been there.

"_Train, Eve!" _He called with all his might, liquid darkness crawling like snakes around his arm as he sank lower, his head beginning to submerge. Wind whipped his hair as it swirled like a typhoon from the opening through which he slowly fell. Sven watched blood splatter out as he coughed, endless pain pulsing through his chest and eye.

In the growing darkness, one last vision plagued him, a last goodbye before he would disappear. This one was the worst of all, consuming all his senses without regret. As dark tentacles wrapped around his eyes and arm, instead of seeing black.... he saw _red._

X X X

Train rubbed one eye with his free hand, the other on the wheel. It had been a long time since he'd been the one driving anywhere, but this time one of their members was missing and the lack of quarreling made a deafening silence. His gaze went to the mirror above his head where he could see Eve staring out the window beside her, pearly eyes looking over scenery without seeing.

She'd been like that the entire time they'd been driving. It would still be at least a half hour until they reached the next town where Rins was staying, yet after all this time they hadn't said a word to each other.

After Sven's first attack, things had actually settled down, much to everyone's relief. As time passed, he seemed to get better and there had been no other incidents. With that off of his chest, Train had turned to his searching. He would check on his partner here and there, but mostly Eve was always at the man's side.

But, afterwards they had only needed more answers to arising questions. Annette had taken the bullet to a lab while the others stayed at the cafe. The lab itself was privately owned by an old friend of hers, and they had tested it, no questions asked.

"_The lab said it was an almost ordinary bullet. No toxins or poisons, it isn't even dangerous enough to be made out of something like lead. I can't tell you what could be happening to Sven except for the fact that the lab did find one substance inside of the bullet that was unidentifiable."_

"_Inside it?" Train asked, puzzled. "like, it was some sort of delivery device, or was it just part of how the bullet was made?"_

_Annette shook her head. "Sadly we can't be sure, but they said that the former was the most likely. Whatever was in there, is now probably inside Sven, and that's where the problem lies right now."_

Train narrowed his eyes as he passed a small roadside shack. Unidentifiable? Why wouldn't the laboratory be able to tell what this unknown substance was? It could have been a flaw, but when he'd asked just that question, Annette had said that these guys didn't make mistakes. If their tests picked up something, that meant it was there and more than just a tiny bit of it.

Yet again they were in the dark, with far too many unanswered questions. Train didn't like not knowing what could be happening whenever his friends were directly involved. This could be very dangerous.

"_At least Annette let us borrow the gas money for the trip..." H_e thought, trying to take his mind away from everythin_g. _Train was never one to bother much about proper funds, but at the moment he was glad not to have to walk a hundred miles. Though perhaps Sven was rubbing off on him after all..

No, he decided. He just wasn't up to walking that far. He'd been up way too late already, trying to find out where Rinslet had been staying for the past few days or so. Now endless road stretched before him and the monotony of the imagery didn't help his fatigue.

His eyes strayed once again to the little princess where she sat, near motionless. The only movement she ever seemed to make was the slight gesture of her hand straying into her pocket every so often, as if to make sure that the little black disks were still there. Train wondered for a moment what she was thinking but shrugged it off.

If he continued to dwell like this then his head would start to hurt and he'd only feel worse. Right about now, he really wished that the radio worked, but they hadn't had enough money to get it fixed when it had gone out.

Black Cat let out a sigh. He was hungry... perhaps when they found Rinslet she'd have some milk on hand...

While Train continued to ponder about food and how long he could last while they continued the drive, Eve was locked in her own mind, puzzling over anything she could think of.

Her mind strayed to memories back at the hideout when she had found a moment of complete silence, all by herself...

_Why had this happened? She knew that every job was dangerous, that no matter where they went or who they went after, risk would be involved.. but now.._

_Eve turned over the small black disks in her hands. They were completely unlabeled and a bit dirty, not to mention scratched, but otherwise intact. She wasn't sure why she had taken them in the first place, but her curiosity had gotten the better of her, and now here they were... their only pieces of possible evidence._

_Soft snoring came from behind her where Train was sitting, his back slumped and his cheek pressed firmly against the keyboard of Annette's laptop. The sweeper had been searching all night across thousands of websites for information regarding the whereabouts of their friend Rinslet Walker._

_She was the only person they knew who would be able to figure out what was on the disks. Annette had already taken it earlier that day to the library where they had a computer that was compatible with the specific type of disks._

_It was encoded and no matter how the retired sweeper had tried, she was unable to find out anything. The contents of the mysterious files had remained untouched. Now, they needed Rins's expertise._

_Eve was tired, very tired, but she didn't want to sleep. She was afraid that she'd somehow miss something important. What if Sven woke up while she was napping? She would hate to miss it, after he'd been out for such a long time, or so it seemed._

_Annette constantly told her that she needed to sleep in a proper place and get some needed rest, but she refused to leave unless she had to. Annette even served her food on the nightstand at her own request._

"_Please be ok..." Eve murmured softly, squeezing Sven's hand a little tighter. He seemed to stir for a moment at this, his eyebrows knitting together and eyes squeezing shut. It almost looked as if he were having a bad dream._

"_Sven?" She asked softly so as not to disturb Train, hoping that perhaps he was finally waking up. There was suddenly movement and Sven's other pale hand slowly lifted up, going to his face. It came to rest gently over his right eye, covering it completely while strands of messy green hair fell lightly over his fingers._

_At least he could still move, that was a good sign. Whatever was going on in his head right now was a mystery to all but he himself, and for all she knew, _he _may not even understand it._

_There was something akin to a half gurgle, half cough and suddenly Train was sitting up and yawning, wiping the drool from both his face and the keyboard. "What time is it?" he asked._

_Abruptly he remembered what he'd been doing and smacked his forehead. "Dammit! Sorry princess, I guess I fell asleep without knowing it." He had said that he wouldn't stop until they'd found out where Rinslet was staying but... unfortunately browsing millions of Internet pages could be pretty tedious._

_Eve shook her head, smiling a bit. "It's ok, everyone needs to sleep." She said, her mind going through the hundreds of books she had read on the subject. "If you don't get enough REM sleep, eventually you'll start hallucinating."_

_Train cocked an eyebrow at this but shook his head. At least she hadn't sunken into depression or anything. Eve always loved to quote the knowledge she had gained from books._

"_Hey, are you idiots awake yet?" Annette had entered the room, holding a phone in her hands. "Luckily for you, I just finished speaking with the hotel staff of a place in the next town. Apparently an Elaina is staying there. She was described by another guest as having Blond hair, green eyes... and a large heart pendant." She smiled. "Sound like anyone we know?"_

Eve let out a little sigh, just quiet enough for a certain person at the wheel not to hear. The moment Train had eaten and gotten the address he had been perfectly ready to run out the door then and there. But not her... Eve wanted to find out what was going on behind the scenes more than anything, but it didn't mean she wanted to leave Annette's.

"_Princess, are you coming or not?" Train was standing outside the doorway to the room, his face shadowed from curtains drawn tight. He knew that Eve didn't want to leave Sven. The man had finally moved after hours of practically being a statue, yet he was still unconscious._

_After Eve did not answer, Train went over to her, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving a reassuring smile. "Come on, I told you not to worry! He'll be ok, he always is. __Svenny-baby is stubborn like that." He gave a wink._

_Eve smiled slightly, but still did not move. "I... I don't want to miss him when he wakes up." She said stubbornly, her lip pouting slightly, showcasing the fact that she was still young, no matter how strong she acted._

_Train thought a moment. "I know you want to see him, but I bet he'll be happier if we find__ some stuff out while he sleeps. You know Sven, he always wants to know what's going on before we make a move." He grabbed one of her hands, pulling it from Sven's. "Besides, you keep holding onto him like that and his hand will fall off." His grin almost consumed his face now._

_He remembered how Saya used to act whenever he was down or depressed. She would always laugh and be cheerful, saying things to make him laugh. He knew Eve was very serious most of the time anyways, and being the closest thing he had to a sister, it was his job to cheer her up._

"_Train!" he received a whack to the head with a fist of hair as Eve pulled her hand back, glaring at him for the comment. But, it was her usual lighthearted glare, so perhaps he was getting through to her._

_Eve let out a sigh, her small hands pulling something out of her pocket. It was the black floppy disks from the warehouse wreckage. "You're right, let's go find Rinslet." She had stood up, squeezing Sven's hand one last time before letting go._

_Eve gently set his hand down on the bed and turned to leave, finally stretching her legs after hours of sitting. Just before she was too far from the bed however, something gently brushed her hand. _

_She instantly whipped around, letting out a slight gasp. But... there was nothing there. Sven's arm lay on the bed still, stretched out towards her. Had he just moved? No... she told herself, shaking her head. He couldn't have._

_She could hear Annette calling and so had hurriedly left before her mind could change, closing the door quietly while forcing herself not to look back._

After that she had made Annette promise to call if anything changed or happened. The retired sweeper had agreed, and Eve had felt at ease. But that last moment still played through her mind. She swore he had moved...

"Hey Princess I think this is the place!" Eve was jolted from her thoughts back to reality and saw Train getting out of the car, having pulled into a parking lot. The hotel to which the lot belonged looked rather grand, four stories with a large entrance and decorative fencing around the front.

"This should be where Rinslet is staying." Train murmured, shading his eyes from the sun as he shut the car door. "You would think she'd stop using the same alias..." Eve nudged him and he cut off. "Yeah, well anyways we'd better go inside and find out where she is."

The two headed in through the large glass double doors. The entryway was certainly designed to draw in rich customers with a stylized chandelier and marble flooring. The reception desk was a deep brown while the walls were a welcoming cream color to brighten the interior.

"Excuse me, but I am looking for a friend, I believe she is currently staying here." Train said, grabbing the attention of the receptionist. The man looked the two over for a moment then nodded.

"Yes and this person you are looking for would go by the name of...?"

"Elaina." Eve piped up, having a bit of difficulty seeing the short man properly over the counter top. "Elaina Rogers I believe. She should be staying here currently." The uniformed clerk flipped through registry books for a few moments before planting a finger on one page.

"Yes I believe she is indeed here. I will call her and notify her of your arrival before sending you up. To clarify." he added. "Whom should I say is wishing to visit?"

Train looked from Eve to the clerk. "I'm Jenos." he said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Jenos Hazard. This is Sephiria. Tell her we have a business offer to discuss." Eve opened her mouth to protest but Train ruthlessly stamped a boot onto her sandaled shoes to quiet her down.

The princess let out a squeak as she tried to conceal her pain, and continued to glare daggers at her assaulter. While the clerk was making the call Eve whacked Train over the head for his actions, leaning in close. "What are you doing?" She whispered harshly. "Why didn't you just tell him _our_ names?"

Train gave a sheepish grin. "If she knows it's us, she may not let us up. You and I both know she likes two things. Men,and their money." Eve rolled her eyes, arms crossed over her chest. "As far as she knows, right now we have both."

"I knew I should have stayed with Annette." There was a click and The clerk returned, a smile on his face.

"Miss Elaina will see you now." Grinning all the way due to his triumph, Train lead their way up a small staircase to where an elevator went to the second floor. Rinslet was supposed to be staying in suite 204.

"202, 203..." Train looked up at the next door. "Yup, here it is, 204." he knocked on the door and waited for an answer. There was shouting from inside and Black Cat waved at the peephole, smiling like an idiot.

Eve took a few steps back as there was a shriek and the door burst open. "What on earth are you guys doing here? I should have known Jenos wouldn't come after he's decided not to answer every one of my phone calls!" Rinslet walker stood in the doorway, strands of lavender hair poking out haphazardly from her blond wig.

She leaned against the door frame, crossing her arms and staring down Train, anger clearly evident, though it could have had to do with those unanswered phone calls...

"Did you guys need money again, or is Chronos after you or something?" She asked, exasperated. "Basically, what do you want now?" She looked from Train to Eve and back, then leaned out of the doorway in which she stood, giving a once-over on the hallway.

"Hey, usually there are three of you here pestering me. Where's Sven?" She asked, straightening." Did he kick you two out or are you just looking for help on one of your sweeper competitions?" She knew from experience that when Train and Eve went at it, it was usually best to stay out of the way.

Instead the atmosphere seemed to darken and Rinslet raised an eyebrow, taking a step back."What the heck? I say one word and you guys act like your puppy just ran away or something! What's up?" She blinked, trying to figure things out.

"Sven's hurt." Rinslet tilted her head to the side as Eve spoke, the little girl's eye determined. "We were after a bounty when the man used a suicide bomb. Before he died though he shot Sven in the back. Some weird things started happening and now he still hasn't woken up."

Rinslet put a finger to her head. "Wait, there was news about a warehouse catching on fire the other day, apparently the police weren't fast enough to catch it and the whole place was destroyed..." She stared. "That was you guys!"

Train nodded. "Yeah. We think the place was actually an old Chronos base. There were some pretty strange things down in the basement where we found a laboratory and some papers with Sven's old partner Lloyd on them." he frowned further. "All we were able to get out were some disks, but a normal computer won't read them."

Rinslet nodded, gesturing for them to fallow her inside. "I get it. You guys need me to hack into it and see if I can find anything right?" She closed the door, removing her wig and throwing it on the arm of a luxurious couch.

Train and Eve at down in matching chairs on a carpeted floor, a coffee table before them covered in a lace sheet. The place was far to prim and proper for Train's liking, so he kicked back and set his feet on the table.

"We hope that maybe we can figure out what exactly is going on if we find out more. The guy we were after said something about 'Long Live Chronos' before he blew himself up, and when we were back at Annette's later, she got the bullet tested and it wasn't normal."

"The laboratory was unable to identify something that was either inside or on the bullet." Eve cut in, continuing the flow of information. "Whoever this Carter Jacoby was, he wasn't just an ordinary bounty."

Rinslet sat down, a bottle of water in hand. "Carter Jacoby? Isn't he the guy who broke into Chronos and got away?" Train and Eve nodded. Rinslet narrowed her eyes, unscrewing the cap on the bottle. "I've been in this business a long time, and I have to agree with you, this can't be that great of a coincidence. Do you think he was trying to kill Sven, or just shoot him?"

Her two guests looked at each other. "If what Annette said is right, then this stuff was inside the bullet and it was some kind of delivery system." Train said, one arm slung over the back of the couch now. "That makes me think that all Jacoby needed was for someone to be hit by that thing."

Rins nodded. "I see, so maybe he wasn't even aiming for Sven, but you or even Eve." She received a nod from the princess.

"When the explosion started, Sven covered me in order to protect me. Maybe that's why..." Uh oh, Train knew that look. Eve was already blaming herself for what happened.

"Hey, don't start thinking it was your fault princess." Train said, nudging her in the shoulder gently. "He could have easily been aiming for me. There was a lot of smoke and I doubt he could have seen very well." This wasn't true, for all he knew Jacoby could see fine. But if it helped Eve...

Rinslet seemed to agree with his theory though. "It is more than likely that he hit Sven by accident, since you two seem to make a lot more enemies around here. Plus you said he mentioned Chronos, in a possible abandoned base of theirs?" She shook her gave a nod of her head. "Definitely sounds like someone is out to get _you _Train."

Everyone in attendance had to agree with that statement. Train seemed to have more enemies and just plain people after him than anyone else. "Well anyways, something about disks right?" Rinslet asked, looking to the sweepers.

Eve reached into her pocket and pulled out the two black disks, going over to Rins and holding them out. "Will you help us?" She said, her eyes showing no hesitation. Rinslet smiled and nodded.

"Of course, you guys are my friends. I won't even charge you this time." There was a groan from where Train was sitting as Rinslet gave a wink to Eve. She got up and took the disks, taking at seat at a computer that was set up on the other side of the room.

Her guests quickly fallowed, crowding around her. "Just don't ever pretend to be Jenos or somebody you aren't when you want to see me ever again." The thief added, adjusting her chair and turning the monitor on. Rins slipped the first disk into its drive and started tapping away at keys.

"Alright, lets see what we've got." The sweepers found chairs to bring up next to her, getting comfortable. "Depending on how whether or not this thing has been damaged at all, this could take a while."

"Well, as long as you've got milk in that fridge over there." Train said pointing across the room. He swiveled his chair around, sitting on it backwards, arms dangling over the back.

"We've got time to kill."

X X X

There was no clock in Rinslet's hotel room, and yet you could almost hear the seconds ticking by in an endless rhythm. The only real sounds that could be heard was breathing, the clacking of computer keys, and the incessant tapping of a pencil.

Eve's eye twitched as the ever so slight tapping continued, the pattern completely irregular and unreadable. Train seemed to have found the pencil on the computer desk and, trying to drive away boredom, had been using it for the past hour to amuse himself in one obnoxious way or another.

In the beginning Eve had used the time that she'd sat waiting to explain more thoroughly to Rinslet what had happened and everything they had seen at the warehouse. Searching through the disk, Rinslet was busily multitasking and listened while she dissected the object's inner workings.

Having finished her explanation nearly ages ago, Eve too was bored and Train's annoying habits weren't helping at all. Already flustered, irritated, worried, and tired beyond reason, she was just about to snap when Rinslet's hands slammed down on the keyboard and she leaned back in her chair.

"Enough!" She groaned. Train and eve both looked to her, wondering why the sudden out burst had come. Rinslet groaned once again and pressed the button on the computer which ejected the disk. To Eve and Train's horror, she took the black floppy and tossed it into the trash.

"Hey Rins, what was that for?" Train shouted, jumping up to try and retrieve the disk. "Just because it's giving you trouble doesn't mean you can just throw it out!"

"It's blank you _moron_!" Train froze, his hand almost touching the disk at the bottom of the wastebasket, all irritation vanishing at the simple words, regardless of the insult.

"What do you mean it's blank?" He asked, standing up straight once again, the disk in his hand.

"Just what I said." Rinslet spun around in her chair, crossing her arms and legs. "I hope this isn't a joke, because there isn't a single thing on that disk. I tried everything imaginable but there aren't even _normal_ files on it. Looks like it's a dud." She sighed. "And after all that work..."

Eve reached out a hand and grabbed the second disk from th desk. "What about this one? There is still a possibility that this one has something on it right?" She asked, determined to find some information.

Rinslet on the other hand, wasn't so sure. "I don't know Eve." She said. "Honestly, if the other one was blank, maybe the only reason these two disks made it out is because they are blank. I mean, who knows, maybe whoever trashed that Chronos place didn't bother to mess around with unused disks."

Truth wrung heavily in her words. For all they knew the mess in that strange room was no accident and someone had deliberately destroyed everything. All these conspiracy theories were starting to hurt Train's head.

"Well...." he said. "We have to try anyways." He was already at the small fridge on the other side of the room and he pulled out two bottles, tossing one to Rinslet. "Here, this'll help you think." He said, winking.

Rinslet looked over the bottle of milk with a look of distaste and handed it to Eve in exchange for the disk. "Alright, but if I do find anything you guys might want to help, since I don't really know what to look for."

Eve leaned in close, watching as Rinslet began her process. She was both fascinated in learning how the woman did her hacking, and hoping with all of her being that this disk would contain information they needed.

Rinslet leaned towards the screen as something popped up. "Wait a second.. what do we have here?" She started typing in key commands, clicking on various places on the screen that to any other appeared to have nothing on them.

"Did you find something?" Eve asked, gripping the milk bottle in her hands. For a few moments there was no answer while Rinslet concentrated, the only response eve received being the sound of Train's loud gulping from behind.

"Almost got it..." Miss Walker muttered. A few more buttons and something popped up. It was labeled amazingly enough and appeared to be a file. "There we go!" She said. "Looks like you guys were right, there is something here."

Train was back at their side, leaning over Rinslet's shoulder. "Oh yeah, what is it?" His eyes fell on the folder header. "What the...?"

Three sets of eyes blinked almost simultaneously. The folder seemed plain as any other, but the title was definitely odd. "_Chronos Project_." Rinslet read aloud. "Well that's certainly an unimaginative name. If it's Chronos's project, why didn't they just name it something else?"

Train shook his head, leaning closer, his eyes staring at the name. "No... something tells me that isn't it." he paused a moment. "I don't understand it, but I have a good feeling that this is significant."

"Very good Heartnet. You appear uninterested sometimes, but you really are very sharp." Everyone whipped around in time to see the door close, Sephiria Arks's hand still on the golden doorknob.

"Surprised to see me?" She asked, a twinkle in her eye as she smirked. "I would be surprised if any of you weren't." She walked over to them, taking a seat in the chair that stood closest to their group.

For another moment, everyone still stared until Rinslet broke the spell that had gone over them. "How did you get in here?" She asked. "I didn't let you in and I'm pretty sure the door locks automatically..."

Sephiria reached into some hidden pocket and procured a key card. "Chronos has it's ways, though I am not here on any official business. I needed to see Miss Walker, but it is a pleasant surprise to find you two here as well." She looked around. "Where is you partner, or is he back at that little cottage of his?"

"No, Sven's not at the hide out." Train said. "He's hurt and currently unconscious at Annette's cafe. I'm sure you've heard of it." Sephiria nodded and he continued, missing Train's angry tone. "It happened during a mission. Our target had a bomb and took out an entire warehouse with him."

He searched Sephiria's face for change of expression. For once, she actually slipped and he could tell she was taken back. "Do you mean the other day?" She asked. After receiving a nod she continued. "As far as Chronos knows, it was an accident." She narrowed her eyes.

"But if what you say is true then... why didn't Chronos alert us to it?" For once the great Number I of Chronos was completely baffled.

"Maybe because it was an old and abandoned former Chronos base." Train wasn't going to beat around the bush. He said it as bluntly as possible. "We found a room inside, among many, and it was trashed like something had exploded in there."

Sephiria seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "Jenos..." She murmured. The others that stood adjacent to her looked quizzically in her direction. Sephiria frowned. "Number VII is the main reason I came here. For the past few days he has been acting strangely. Distant, silent... he barely speaks with anyone. His actions towards everyone he comes into contact with are... _cold_."

Rinslet looked aghast. "Jenos? No way, that sounds nothing like him!" She said indignantly. "Are you sure something isn't wrong? I'm sure he has a good reason... did you ask him?" She outright refused to believe that he would act in such a way towards _anyone_.

Sephiria shook her head. "Chronos has ordered Belze to watch over him, therefore Hazard is not to know. I came here to ask if you have been in contact with him at all in the past week. Though from what you've told me, perhaps the destruction of the old Chronos base was his doing."

Train held up a hand as Rinslet was about to protest. "Why would he do that?" He asked. "Jacoby, the guy we were after, had broken into Chronos before we went after him. But, just before he died he shouted 'Long Live Chronos'." Train narrowed his eyes. "This sounds pretty crazy to me. Listen Sephiria if you have any information on this, we really need the help. Sven might be in big trouble."

He quickly went on to explain about his partner's strange reaction at the warehouse, how long Sven had been out, and the bullet's unidentified substance. All the while, Number I's eyes strayed between Train, and the file on Rinslet's computer screen.

Finally after Train had finished, she stood up, going over to the computer. Her eyes scanned the title and she was silent momentarily. " That explains something. I thought I recognized the area..." She muttered. "Heartnet, do you ave any idea what this is?" She asked, pointing to the monitor.

"We were just about to look into it when you got in here, remember?" He answered, puzzled. "Why, do you have any idea what this is about?" he asked.

Sephiria motioned for everyone to get comfortable and they did as ordered quickly and efficiently. Sitting down once more herself, the leader of the Chronos numbers began.

"If I am correct in placing the warehouse and the rooms that lay beneath it, then the files you seemed to have come across are very old, and very few people in Chronos know about them. The elders and I along with a select few are the only people who have ever learned of the Chronos project." She said, her expression more serious than usual.

"Almost forty years ago, a research facility was built underground, the same one that was just destroyed only days ago. Chronos had been trying to develop better weaponry than even those made of Orichalcum. The laboratory had started out as a research facility for new metal ores, ones to possibly surpass Orichalcum."

"Is that even possible?" Train asked skeptically, interrupting as he fingered h\Hades where it lay sheathed on his leg. In answer to his question Sephiria shook her head, long blond hair sliding over jacketed shoulders at the movement.

"They never did find anything, though part of this had to do with the fact that their research did not stay in the field of elements and metal ores for very long." Her eyes seemed to have drifted back to a memory, or perhaps she was imagining things just as her listeners were.

"After a few years, it turned out that a bright young scientist had been looking into a theory of his, studying people using research from all over the world. He believed that there was a way that someone could make a wormhole, traveling great distances by going through space and time."

"Sounds crazy to me." Rinslet mused not so silently. "If I had to guess, I'd say that this kid was some kind of crack pot."

"Quite the opposite." Sephiria said, holding up a finger. "He was supposedly a genius. Chronos thought he had great promise and so devoted that section of their research team to his field of interest instead. Years were spent looking into details of physics and theories. Meanwhile scientists worked endlessly until they finally believed that they had created a machine that would open a wormhole at their command."

By now Train and the Rinslet were completely silent. Eve however, was not. "It did not work as planned, did it?" She asked. "That was why we found the old laboratory the way it was. Something happened, right? An explosion or something along those lines?"

Sephiria's eyes sparkled. "You're very sharp." She said, addressing Eve in an almost motherly manor for but a moment. She quickly turned back however. "I was never given the details, but apparently something happened, possibly a short circuit or simply a miscalculation, and the entire machine imploded,taking out most of the facility and nearly all of the workers with it. This was years later, about thirty or so... more or less. We may never know the true cause. All I know for sure is very few made it out alive, and Chronos was surprised that any of the laboratory was left."

"So, Chronos had a warehouse built on top of the underground lab in order to hide any other damage and cover up it's existence." Train crossed his arms. "Just like Chronos, always hiding their mistakes at the worst of time."

Ignoring this comment Sephiria spoke once more. "I do not know if that will help you at all, but if you have no information on Jenos ,then I must be getting back to Chronos. I have matters to attend to, as always." She stood up but took a glance back at the file.

"_Should I say?"_ She asked herself, but pushed the thought from her mind. _"No, that was just conspiracy talk by outsiders. It never happened..." _

"I'm really sorry, but Jenos hasn't even answered my phone calls in the past week." Rinslet said, interrupting Sephiria's train of thought. "I can try and find out what he's up to and get a chance to see him, but I'm not sure he'll come..."

Sephiria smiled. "no, that is alright. I believe that I may be able to keep a closer eye on him, as we do work together." She nodded towards Train. "If I find anything out, I will notify you as soon as possible. Alright?"

"Thanks Sephiria." Train said as the woman made to leave. "If we do happen to see Jenos, we'll tell you." He turned to the girls. "_Right?_" Both looked at the other than turned back and gave a short nod.

The said their goodbyes and Sephiria left, closing the door behind herself. As soon as the door was completely shut she gave a sigh. "Should I have told them that the file ends abruptly?" She herself had once wondered why such a thing had occurred. "The rest of it has never been found by anyone, the report having already been first given by word of mouth. There was no original written record... Whatever information was there, has been lost."

She ran a hand over her face. She felt tired for some reason. Probably all the extra stress from what had been going on lately... As she walked down the lavishly decorated hotel hallway, her mind drifted back to the files.

"It has to be accurate... after all, it was lord Wilzark who had first given the record of events."

Back inside the hotel room, Train stood silently for a moment simply staring at the door that Sephiria had gone through. He abruptly turned around and sat down at the computer. "Hey Rins, is there a possibility of there being any more files on this thing?" He asked, turning around to look at Rinslet.

Bending over the keyboard next to Train, Rinslet shrugged. "How should I know?" She asked. "Why? Don't you trust that lady? I thought you knew her pretty well."

Train nodded, taking the mouse. "Yeah I trust her probably more than anyone inside of Chronos. I just need to learn things for myself sometimes. Besides, she even said that only a few people know about what went on all those years ago." he narrowed his eyes, clicking on the file to open it.

"They could be hiding something." Curiosity killed the cat, but right now Train didn't care. His golden eyes flared as he stared at the screen before him.

His instincts were telling him that _something_ was amiss, and he wanted to know what it was. It took a second for the file to pop up, but when it did, everyone immediately crammed in close to get a better look.

On the file window, words had started typing out all on their own, scrolling across in a font that resembled that of an old typewriter.

_**I've been waiting, Rinslet Walker.**_

X X X

_When the darkness had swallowed him whole,for a while Sven felt paralyzed, darkness smothering his every sense without pause. Now, it started to happen..._

_The sweeper was only able watch, his body drained of its last energy from his prior struggle. It would not permit him to fight any longer. He was standing in a field of chaos, rubble strewn about and bodies on the ground like a grotesquely distorted dream. Before him was the very portal into which he'd been dragged, only now it was once again swirling with colors, its surface still._

_There were people all around, a group of men off to one side shouting orders while he heard crying in a more distant area. Inside the pool's glistening face he could see one single scene, a picture of a memory, as he'd been there before._

_Somehow, he was not directly thinking of this strange portal, instead his mind went through things that he didn't even understand. It wasn't as if he was watching this time... it was like he was reliving it._

_He could think two different thoughts, ponder completely different subjects, at the same time, though both were still his thoughts. Just one was now and the other was... Come to think of it, when was this? He felt like he recognize this terrible scene yet, he'd never experienced something so strange._

"_Please... you have to..." He felt like he was pleading, unable to turn away from that which he watched. That was it... he must have been trying to break away! This swirling creation was coming from him, he could see it!_

_But fate broke Sven from his reverie as a figure suddenly appeared before him. He knew that face!_

"_Jenos-" he tried to speak but instead other words came out, ones he did not understand, the words somehow out of his control. His mind reeled as Jenos's eyes met his own. He understood something that passed between them, but at that moment could not grasp what it was._

_There was a flash of silver as Ichthus was raised in the other man's grip and Sven's eyes opened wide. Jenos's own eyes were set in determination, though something else had crept into those dark spheres. In one swift movement light flashed off of the perfectly polished surface and pain engulfed Sven's body._

_For a moment as the blade was driven in, he watched the shining metal as it was buried in his chest. First there was fire, then there was cold. Numbness began to spread as he coughed on the blood that spilled from his lips._

_It had been so sudden that shock seemed to flood and overcome any other senses he should have had. _

_Jenos wrenched the sword free and Sven found himself falling. His eyes could see what was happening, yet his legs shut down and he was immediately sinking, falling to the ground hard without any control._

_Darkness closed in as his body forced itself to gasp for air. His breath was slipping away no matter how he choked for the oxygen he desired. His life was bleeding away and everything went into a tail spin, his eyelids drooping as the scenery spun in and out._

_Sven managed to lift one bloodied hand, reaching out for someone, anyone who would come. But his energy deserted him as his last breath escaped, his body beginning to go limp. How strange... besides what he felt, the pain, the wetness on his lips, the numbness as it spread, he was still somehow aware of everything._

Was this how it felt to die?

_A sense of calmness washed over him as his mind shut down, his vision failing. The last thing he saw was red stains in a blue sky and a tear slid down his cheek for reasons he did not understand. He felt his own body convulse for a moment, a gasp escaped his lips and then... his hand slowly fell to the ground, landing on the tainted grass with a near silent thud..._

"No!" Sven gasped, bolting upright. A hand flew to his chest out of instinct and found bandages. He felt a sharp throbbing on his back, but still... he was intact. Taking in shaking breaths to calm himself he put a hand to his right eye. It too was covered in bandages. He slowly turned, looking at his surroundings to find out where he was while he lowered his shaking hand.

He immediately noticed that he was in the same bed he usually woke up in whenever their group got into trouble. "I must be... at Annette's..." He decided, recognizing the room and its attire. There was an empty chair right beside the bed and an empty bottle of milk lying on the desk across the room.

Sven smiled to himself. Train and Eve... they must have been here. Could it all have been nothing more than a dream? The frightening images and sensations, the coldness that clawed like fingers of ice through him before darkness had come? He looked at his trembling hands. It had felt so real... then how was he here? What had happened?

He needed to know what was going on, and where his partner's had gone. He needed answers to many things, and wouldn't be satisfied until he'd gotten them. Sven let out a deep sigh, putting a hand to his head and another to his chest. Bandages crumpled slightly under his fingers as his grip tightened.

It had truly felt as real as if he'd _been_ there...

X X X

* * *

**A/N: Whew! That was long! I hope I didn't bore anyone with such a huge chapter, but it had to be done! Chapter 4 hopefully won't take as long to write as this one did. And so the mystery continues... XD**


	5. Chapter IV

**A/N: Since this week I am going to be really busy, I'm happy that I was able to get this next chapter up so fast. I hope the riddles just keep getting more puzzling as it goes along. And guess what? Mystery man is revealed! Did anyone already guess whose side he was one to begin with? **

**Disclaimer: Black Cat is property of Kentaro Yabuki**

Chapter IV

_His back hit hard as he fell against the wall, sliding to the floor. A rough sound emitted from the cloth grinding against the unforgiving stone behind it. His entire body was trembling as he tried to steady his shaking breaths. It took a moment but finally... he calmed down._

_His hands however, refused to stop their trembling... the one sign that proved he could not control such overwhelming emotions._

_Could he really do it? The questions plagued him without end, never withdrawing for even a moment's peace. Could he see all of this through? After everything that had happened, it should have been fine. The task appeared simple enough, yet why did his heart ache so upon seeing their faces again?_

_That was it, he realized. That was when it had started... when he'd been talking to... _

"_No." He had to cut himself off. If he began to dwell on what had been, it would drag him under unforgivably. And yet... he wasn't sure he could take much more of this. Speaking to people was hard enough, hiding his every feeling, every motive from the people he cared for was even worse._

_As he looked down at his trembling hands he suddenly saw a flash of red. Those hands... no matter how he looked at them or when he did, he could always see the blood that had tainted his fingers. Those scarlet drops that forced memories to forcibly resurface._

_Memories that should have stayed locked inside his slowly blackening heart. Could he take it? Just those memories alone were tearing him apart... he had done what he believed was the only way, but..._

_Had he been wrong?_

_Every time he closed his eyes he could see it... The light, the fires and the destruction. Whenever a quiet moment passed he could hear that sickening shink as a blade went through flesh, or as a bullet hit its mark._

_He could wind back the clock, he could change history and he could make amends. It would be as it should... as if nothing had ever happened. But that wouldn't change that it _did_ happen..._

_And he would remember it forever._

_Why had he done it? Surely someone else...? But no... those bodies had been his comrades just as they had been the other's. But to try such a task alone... no one should ever have to carry a burden in silence, in complete and utter confinement._

_No matter how he tried to block all memories, to sever all bonds in order to carry out his duty, he just couldn't. Would he make it? Would he be in time to save the lives that had been lost?_

_He knew that no matter the circumstance, if he had to see them die a second time, the blackness of insanity would not forgive him again. Such an easy victim would not be able to slip form its clutches twice._

_He could hear footsteps now and it pulled him back from the darkest reaches of his mind. He had to do this... otherwise it would happen all over again. He had done the unthinkable only because he had wanted to save it from happening again. He had believed that if he did it, the the future would be saved._

_If he did not pull through, not only would the same terrors come to pass, the same losses... but then his hands would forever be tainted for nothing. He will have murdered for the sake of nothing more than a broken future. _

_He would not allow it._

_His fists clenched at his sides as he wiped the single tear that had escaped his dark eyes. At least... he had not lost the ability to cry. Perhaps... as long as he could still grieve for loss and regret his actions..._

_Perhaps there was still a chance to save his crumbling heart...?_

That memory... it played through his mind over and over again, recycling in an endless circle as he made his way towards the house. It had been a moment of weakness on his part, and he couldn't afford for such things to happen again.

If he broke down now, he'd never see the end.

His goal was in sight now, only so many paces away, if one wanted to count. He flexed his fingers at his side. This had to be done, and it had to be done _now_. Slowly, ever so slowly he continued his walk towards the building ahead.

He was ready.

X X X

Belze Rochefort was not one who was used to feeling dread, though at this moment it seemed to course through every vein. He had to try and calm himself as he approached the large ebony double doors. The elders had been right about Hazard all along... the very idea saddened him.

Now he had to face the elders after failing them in his duties. Such an act should have been unheard of for a Chronos Number such as he. Now he had to face his superiors and this was something he did not look forward to. Jenos had slipped easily from his grasp... nothing could account for such a failure.

"_You _let _him go."_ Something in the back of his mind seemed to say this. _"You could have gone after him, but you didn't because you're not willing to take on a comrade. Even now you aren't willing to accept that Hazard is an enemy."_

Belze shook his head. No... After what he had seen on the monitor, the information that scrawled across those glowing screens... Jenos was planning something, he had seen it in the look in his eyes. An anger that was greater than Belze had ever seem in the man.

He drew in a deep breath and took hold of one of the door's curved golden handles. He was the second in command of the Chronos Numbers, there was no need to fear. Belze opened the door just wide enough to enter and then closed it again with barely a sound.

The room was unusually dark inside, the lights turned off completely. Any illumination instead came from two rows of candles that strangely lined the walls. The light from said candles cast an eerie red glow across the room due to the color of their wax. It was a curious layout for the main chamber, one Belze had never seen used before.

The three large screens that usually hung behind and above the podium were black as tar, switched off entirely. Instead, someone appeared to be standing beneath them, their back turned to Number II.

"Excuse me." Belze stated calmly, voice betraying no anxiety that he held. "This room is off limits unless you have been previously summoned. I will have to ask you to leave." The figure made no move to, and in fact did not appear to make any movement at all.

As Belze drew nearer to the stairs that led up to the podium, he began to recognize the long flowing black robes and the shortish gray beard of the figure. His bare head shined in the light, and were his face not turned away, Belze was sure he would see that red tattoo that adorned his forehead.

Lord Wilzark turned now to face his subordinate, hands clasped firmly behind his back. "I expect you do not actually consider me as an intruder?" he asked, a twinkle in his sagely eyes.

Belze froze, bowing deeply as he kneeled. "Forgive me my lord, but I-I did not expect you to be here. I meant no disgrace by it." He inwardly chastised himself for having stuttered, especially in the physical presence of Lord Wilzark. The man rarely ever visited Chronos compounds, on his own or not.

He was Chronos Number II and should have therefore been more refined and in control of any emotions.

Wilzark however seemed to think nothing of it. "That is to be expected." He said, nodding. "I rarely ever come to see anyone in person, but I had certain other matters to attend to here. Now tell me Rochefort, why are _you _here?"

Belze cast his gaze to the polished marble beneath his feet. Its cool touch on his hand was a slight comfort to him in such a dark chamber. "I have been given proof that Number VII is planning something, as you earlier stated, though as to what I am still not sure. I encountered him in one of the restricted research labs which he had hacked into. Upon confrontation he was able to escape."

Belze paused a moment. "I also encountered... someone else in the same room. However for the moment it is of no concern and I feel the need to apologize for failing to apprehend Hazard as you instructed."

For a long time Wilzark made no remark, instead seeming to think of something else. Finally Belze raised his once bowed head and stood. The elderly man did indeed seem to be staring off into nothingness, seeing something in the distance as he habitually fingered his gray mustache.

"Tell me Rochefort, what is Chronos to you?" The strange question had come rather suddenly and Belze's guard was slightly thrown.

"Excuse me sir?" He asked. Without turning to face the him, Lord Wilzark repeated the statement, pacing forward a few steps. He stopped at a small decorative wooden table that stood but a few feet tall, it's polished mahogany surface appearing almost red in the faint light.

After a moment's thought, Number II was able to provide his answer. "It is an organization that is used to keep the peace in the world and the balance of power in check. Even if it means that people must die in the process." He stated. "Chronos is the lifeline that keeps out chaos."

This should have been as satisfactory an answer as any, however the elderly man shook his half bald head almost as if Belze were a child who did not understand a new concept. It wasn't patronizing per say, almost_ pitying _more so.

"Perhaps it would be best if I were to rephrase my question?" Wilzark questioned, one hand stroking his beard slightly. "Maybe then you will understand. What does 'Chronos' stand for?"

Still the answer that his lord was searching for seemed to elude Number II. Belze puzzled over the question and the rewording. "Chronos... stands for the order and peace that we have achieved here." He stated slowly. "Is this what you are asking?"

Yet again however, Lord Wilzark shook his head, this time chuckling softly to himself. "All that you have said is true as you say, but both answers pertain only to Chronos as an _organization_. I however, speak of the Chronos of old mythology."

Belze could only watch and listen as his Lord sat down in a large and almost thrown-like chair that stood on the podium parallel to the little wooden table. It was quite regal in appearance, a gold hue to the metal work on which were crafted fine detailing. Wilzark's robes draped over the chair and the man's legs, hiding both from view.

"The Chronos of ancient Greek mythology," He began to explain. "Is the god from whom we derive our own name. Chronos was the epitome and personification as time itself." His eyes seemed to sparkle as he spoke now.

"It stood for the passing of the ages, the moment that could never be turned back." The candles that lined the walls seemed to flare brighter for a brief moment as if a gentle breeze had just passed through.

"This almighty god forever embodied the ticking of the clock itself, endlessly turning without pause, forever left to go untamed. Chronos was the entirety of the past, present... and future." It seemed as if a chill had blown through the room now, though perhaps Belze was the only one to feel its presence.

"Lord Wilzark, I do not believe I understand what you are talking about..." Belze stated in all honesty. "What is all this about?" His tact seemed to have slipped ever so slightly as confusion overtook his mind. He was starting to get a very bad feeling, hairs standing up on the back of his neck.

Why would he feel this way in the presence of his Lord?

"Don't worry." Wilzark assured him, appearing to take no insult. "You will see when the time is right Rochefort. If one is to create an environment of complete peace, one must control the flow of life itself." The elderly man sipped at a glass of wine he had procured from the small table calmly, seeming to gaze at the glass's contents.

Belze found himself tensing at the look in the other man's eyes. There was something there, as he stared at the blood red liquid in the glass, looking as if he could see something entirely different. As if he knew there was something behind such a thing as a simple glass of wine that could hold great meaning...

Number II took a few cautious steps away from the stairs that led to the podium, one hand inching slowly towards Gungnir as he tried to make such gestures appear natural. "Sir, may I respectfully say, no one can control life. That is just the way nature is. Both are completely out of our grasp to control."

"Unless..." Belze narrowed his eyes as Wilzark rose from his thrown, spreading his arms in a wide gesture. "_Unless _you could control the the passing... of _time_." The term came out in a low tone, seeming to hiss through the old man's lips.

Belze could no longer keep himself composed. "What?" he blurted, taking another step back. "No one can control nature, and there is nothing in this world that could allow anyone to stop time. It just isn't possible." he shook his head as if to make the statement final.

Completely unfazed, the elder man simply scoffed. "Who said anything about trying to _stop_ time?" He stepped towards Number II, feet treading with barely a sound against the marble that lay beneath them, his robes making a gentle hissing sound as the trailed behind.

Belze shook his head. "That is even more insane. These things were never meant for us to harness, time was meant to be forever out of our ability to manipulate! Otherwise chaos would simply take over. We've known for a long time that there are too many loopholes, possibilities... too large a margin for error for us to try such a thing!"

A laugh echoed through the room, rebounding off of the towering support pillars. It was a laugh that held no true humor, just a sort of twisted self satisfaction. Lord Wilzark looked down at Belze scornfully, now standing on the highest step of the low stairs.

"You seem to fear this idea Number II. I will admit to you, it does seem an unreachable task to an outsider." The last word ran through Belze's head for a moment. _Outsider? _"To control the one thing that humans cannot, to redo a moment in the past... But you are wrong to fear nature. There is nothing out of our reach, so long as you know what to do..."

The doors that cut into three out of the four walls suddenly slammed shut, the darkness creeping in ever closer. The locations of each of the doors were now only visible if you knew they were there, the candle light seeming to pass over the ebony woodwork without a trace. Belze had not realized any of them were even open...

"Time is not something that should be feared." Wilzark continued, landing on one of next steps, descending lower. In the near blanketing darkness, shadows blotting out any details that had once been, Belze began to unwrap Gungnir from inside its casing.

His eye caught something from the recesses of the hall, shadows seeming to move on their own against the flickering of the candle light. Those couldn't possibly be natural...

The two were no longer alone.

Lord Wilzark was no longer the sagely old man that they had once so highly respected. He now stood on the bottom step, tall and strong as a war general commanding the battlefront of his armies. His dark eyes seemed set in stone, wrinkles of age standing out in the shadows.

This was a man who never laughed out of joy, never smiled from happiness... All he knew was war, pain, and a goal that he would do anything to fulfill. There was no meaning in life or death for him. This, Belze could see for certain now.

"We of Chronos, the Guardians of Time, have found the way." The long wrappings fell from Gungnir, gently draping across the floor without a sound. Belze gripped the shaft tightly, every word that Wilzark now spoke sounding more and more insane.

"You're a madman!" He shouted, anger finally getting the better of his once calm demeanor. "No one can take hold of something as unstoppable as time!" This man had lied to every member of Chronos in order to fulfill some ungodly scheme. Their 'Lord' was planning the unthinkable.

"You will have betrayed all of Chronos if you plan on going through with such an absurd idea." Wilzark shook his head slowly as if he were looking down upon a troubled boy that had done wrong instead of his specially trained eraser.

"It is not such an untouchable thing, time... if you know what can and can't be done with nature. Take tao for instance... no one should be able to breathe fire, and yet..." He smiled, teeth hidden behind his facial hair. "Just as a human body can be made to no longer yield at nature's cruel touch, so can a body be made to sway the rippling of time."

Belze's eyes grew wide as he realized what the man was saying. "What are you going to do?" He gasped. "You plan on taking an innocent person off of the streets an-" But he was cut off.

"Oh I can assure you." As the lord spoke Belze could make out the sound of at least three sets of distinct footsteps coming closer from the darkness of the room. "He was certainly not chosen at _random_. There are certain... _qualities_, that are necessary. I assure you we have studied this for years."

"No, I will not allow any of this!" It all made sense now. The files, the missing documents, the wreckage Chronos had found only days ago at a retired warehouse facility...

"That's such a shame." Wilzark raised a hand to someone unseen, appearing to give a signal that Belze did not understand. "You had such promise, one of the strongest of the Numbers. But, it appears you do not agree with our ways."

"_Our?_" The moment the words had escaped his lips, Belze wished he had never spoken. He knew then and there that his suspicions had been confirmed... not only were there others that apparently agreed with Wilzark if his statement could be taken as true, but there were others _there_ with them.

One by one, Chronos Numbers emerged from the darkness as their master continued to speak words of blasphemy. From where they came at him, Belze realized that he was surrounded.

"I fear you know too much, Rochefort." The statement held such hidden menace within the almost _casually_ spoken words of the head puppeteer that was Lord Wilzark. "Such a shame..." He repeated, turning to leave, the shadows masking his route.

"No!" Belze dashed forward, trying to reach the old man before he was able to leave. However his target would simply not allow such insolence. Before his attack could give any effect, there was a whizzing sound, something metal flying through the air and catching the few rays of light that flickered off its surface.

At it's master's command, Heimdall crashed into Belze, sending him into a wall. The attack was painful, but fortunately not lethal as it mostly grazed his side. Pulling himself from the rubble of the wall and candlesticks, Belze glared as Baldorias S. Fanghini emerged from darkness's shroud, together with his two companions.

"Why the sour face?" There was a most irritating snap as Baldor's gum bubble popped, the horridly colored substance quickly sucked into it's owner's mouth and chewed once more. With a whir of its jets, Heimdall came to rest in the man's outstretched hand.

"You know that that's disgusting right?" One of the few members of Chronos that Belze did not know very well, Emilio Lowe, emerged on his left, Orichalcum bow in hand. "Besides, _no one _should chew coffee flavored gum."

Adjacent to him, Baldor's partner Kranz emerged, completely silent unlike his fellow Numbers. Mars was nowhere in sight, safely concealed somewhere of only his own knowledge. Together, the three made a triangle around Number II, surrounding any exits he may have had, the wall at his back a final enemy.

Suddenly a bright light filled the room and all three Chronos Numbers temporarily moved their gazes away from Belze, turning to look at two of the three screens which had just been switched on.

The other two members of the elders stared down at the room's occupants. "I see that Wilzark must be done here."one of the men said. "I assume you are already, correct?"

"Your orders?" Kranz asked coldly, procuring Mars from some hidden inner pocket of his black jacket. It was clear that none of these men were going to mess around. Belze knew for sure that Numbers IV and VIII were both trained as assassins since they were practically old enough to walk.

This wasn't going to be easy.

The two old men smiled, looking as malicious as their leader had. "It is as Lord Wilzark has stated." They both spoke in unison, voices blending in an almost robotic way as they pronounced Belze's sentence. "He knows too much for us to allow him passage out of this room."

The Number in question felt his stomach tighten as he once again brought Gungnir into a battle ready position. "Once you are through with him Baldor, Kranz... you both are to head to the coordinates that were provided earlier. You will find _him_ there."

The three men nodded in unison. "Emilio, your route will take you elsewhere. You are ordered to make sure that Hazard does not interfere with anything." As soon as the reply was given, the dual screens switched off, the faces disappearing from sight.

Belze repeated what the men had said. "Hazard." The name seemed to renew itself in his mind, and he narrowed his eyes at the opposing Numbers. "What does he have to do with any of this? If you kill him I swear..."

"Pipe down old man." Baldor spat, scoffing at his prisoner's angered state. "We ain't going to kill him... yet. Of course if he tries to interfere, well that's another story." His grin spread, eyes filled with arrogance. "After the incident in the lab I didn't think you'd care what happened to the guy."

This hadn't been expected, and now Rochefort was confused. If they were against Jenos then why had the man acted as he did? No matter the influence that the elders' words had on him, Belze had heard for himself the mocking tone and the coldness that Number VII had had towards everyone. So then why...?

There was an almost unnoticeable click that was immediately fallowed by the sound of tiny rockets. The noise brought Belze out of his reverie and back to the three erasers before him.

Heimdall activated once again, whizzing past Belze's head and narrowly missing, bending to its master's every whim. Number II was only just able to avoid it, a dull pain throbbing on his left side. He skidded to a halt from the jump, one hand steadying himself on the floor.

In the other hand he spun Gungnir like the pro he was, standing ready to defend himself. He had to warn Sephiria of this, which mean that he was prepared die, or to kill in this fight. He _had_ to escape, whether or not he took anyone out along the way...

The other three Chronos Numbers seemed to home in on their target casually, clearly in no hurry as Baldor tossed Heimdall up and down in the air with one hand like nothing more than a child's ball.

"You guys good to go?" He asked with a smirk. In answer to the question, Kranz activated Mars, the knife's blade appearing hazy as it vibrated back and forth. Emilio took out an arrow and locked it into place.

The assassins were ready.

For a moment it was quiet enough to hear the slight creaking sound that was emitted as Emilio pulled back slowly on his bowstring, the string growing more and more taught by the second. The Orichalcum arrow he had locked in place seemed to gleam with its deadly intent.

"Forgive me." Belze said. "Though I don't wish to fight, I can't allow any of you to leave this room!" Everything seemed to be a blur as Number II dove at the other erasers, stabbing and slashing with his mighty spear.

Weapons flew all around, the three men coordinating their attacks with each other in order to gain advantage over Belze. Fortunately for him though, for the moment most of the blows dealt were easily dodged.

However, this did not mean that it was easier on the offense. Barely a scratch made its way onto the cloths or skin of his opponents, and certainly no blows that could cause any real damage. They were good, as Belze had expected, but even better as they outnumbered him three to one.

"Why are you doing this?" Belze demanded, Gungnir clashing furiously against Mars. He pushed forward, trying to force his adversary to retreat back. This was difficult though as the two had to keep breaking their fight while Belze dodged the other men.

"There's no reason to answer you." Kranz smirked eerily once his weapon connected again, the expression one Belze had seldom seen. More clanging filled the room as sparks flew between the clashing Orichalcum weapons.

Belze dove to the side as Emilio's arrows flew past, embedding into the stone walls where he had just been standing. These three... it was as if they'd been training for this day and this moment alone! Their tactics were nearly unreadable, their movements easily coordinated with one another...

Heimdall crashed into a nearby wall, sending up dust and debris, temporarily blinding Belze's vision as candles flickered out and died. The longer they fought the darker it became inside, red candle wax splattering to the floor like blood whenever a stand was toppled.

Whist dodging yet another of Emilio's arrows, there was a slight gust of wind and Belze felt warn breath on the back of his neck. "By the way... there's something that we forgot to mention."

"Kranz!" Belze spun around fast, Gungnir swinging low, and amazingly managed to land a shallow blow to the man's shoulder. Kranz stumbled back slightly, holding the afflicted area, but continued to smile nonetheless.

"You shouldn't turn your back." He said. Belze's eyes widened and he felt the sting of arrows as one landed in in shoulder from behind, another embedding itself in his lower leg.

"Dammit..." He cursed, quickly pulling them out and tossing the arrows aside. He was slowing down, he could feel it already. Belze had fought many opponents before single handedly, but not ones of this caliber, not one with weapons as indestructible as his own...

There was a satisfying clang as arrows were deflected with a whirl of Belze's spear. "No matter..." He began anew, taking up his usual fighting stance with pride. Before he could begin his attack however, something caught his eye.

A golden light gleamed from the smooth surface as candle light radiated off of the special metal. One of Emilio's slender but deadly arrows was sticking out of Gungnir's spear head, lodged inside. It was one of the very same arrows that he had just deflected, a series of small cracks spreading out a few centimeters from the impact site.

"What... what is this?" Belze demanded angrily, wrenching the offending projectile from his prized weapon of choice.

A few feet away, Baldor chuckled, clearly pleased with himself and his companions. He shook his head as another gum bubble popped loudly. "You still don't get it do ya? Chronos runs _everything _around here. If we want something, it's done before you could even realize it."

Belze sensed someone behind his back once again, realizing that he currently only faced two of the Chronos number, and spun around. The clang that emitted from his spear as it collided with Mars seemed to echo with a reverberation due to the vibrating blade.

Suddenly there was a loud _crack! _Belze looked down and saw what he had never expected to witness. Cracks were spreading across the shaft of Gungnir where Mars was held against it, the blade beginning to sink in.

"We tried to warn you." The words were cold as Kranz spoke them. Pulling back, he brought the Orichalcum knife down hard. This blow would be final as the shaft of Belze's spear shattered, breaking in two.

Stumbling backwards from the shock as well as the blow, Belze stared at the two polished pieces that now lay in his hands. The splintered pieces that had fallen now sprinkled the floor below, the black standing out greatly against the bright tiled flooring.

Allowing the blunt end of his spear to clatter to the floor, Belze managed to gasp something out. "This... can't be..." He stuttered. "One Orichalcum weapon can't destroy another..." He was still in a state of complete shock.

"Seems to me you weren't expecting that precious spear of yours to snap like a twig were you?" Baldor laughed as Kranz flicked mars into the air, catching it with one swift movement as he shut off the vibrate function.

Belze Rochefort wasn't one to do anything rash on normal occasions. This, of course, did not fall under that category. He glared daggers at all three of the men, his gaze going back and forth. "You bastards!" He shouted. "What did you do?" Still holding the 'business' end of Gungnir's remains, he demanded an explanation.

There was a whirring sound and Belze involuntarily let out a gasp, an Orichalcum arrow embedding itself in his back. He stumbled slightly, but was lucky as the arrow didn't hit any vital organs or go in very deep.

From behind Emilio smirked. "Will you ever learn? Never expose your back to the enemy... it's just too tempting of a target. You've been letting your guard down Belze, how else would we be able to switch out Gungnir with a fake?"

"Fake?" Belze's eyes grew wide, the spear tip falling loosely from his hands. This had been planned, the entire thing. A set up from the beginning... If he didn't join their cause then he would have been defenseless...

And that is exactly how it had played out, right into their hands. Three assassins against one unarmed fool... how could he have not seen any of this from the beginning? How long had Chronos been planning for a day like this?

The others seemed to notice the look on his face. "That's right old man." Emilio spat, locking three arrows into his long dazzling bow at once. They quickly moved in, starting to back Belze into a corner.

"You have nowhere to go." As if on cue, Belze's back hit the wall, his elbow knocking down yet another candlestick. It was a nightmare, fire reflecting in his adversaries' eyes, smoke billowing in gentle curls between them from the the fallen candle in a dark room.

The great Belze Rochefort, Number II of Chronos, was going to die. He had failed, driven into an inescapable prison by only three men. It was shameful to think he'd only held out this long...

They were right... he had nowhere to go.

That meant that there was nothing for him to do... except _fight back._ It didn't matter now, as he would die anyways. Defenseless or not,he wouldn't go down willingly. But if he could take someone down with him he would, with whatever he had left.

Quickly, Belze grabbed a candle stick, throwing it at the apposing Chronos Numbers with great skill. He ducked, trying to make a break for it so as to have a better chance to fight back.

He had been hoping to gain enough time to escape at the very best with this tactic, but instead the trick bought him none. A shadow appeared behind him in a flash along with a sinister voice to fallow.

"You're too slow." Belze cried out as Kranz drove his knife into one leg. "But just in case, we'll see if we can make you any slower." Belze stumbled backward, his leg damaged badly. Falling to one knee he tried to stop the bleeding with a hand from his uninjured arm.

Back and legs throbbing, things were starting to look far worse than they had in the beginning for Number II. He clenched one hand, gritting his teeth against the pain, and stood up.

Just as he did Heimdall came racing from the shadows and crashed into him, sending the Chronos Number flying into a wall. The concrete wouldn't budge of course against the one who'd hit it, and Rochefort felt at least three ribs crack, more sever pain coming now through his chest and blinding his vision.

As he lay there stunned, Belze heard a twanging noise, one right after the other, and felt as arrows pinned him to the wall, be it by cloths or by skin. His arms and legs couldn't move enough to free himself, only allowing his head the chance to look at his enemies.

However, he did not wish to face them, his head hanging low and instead staring at the floor and all that lay upon it. There was nothing to do. He was completely and irreparably trapped. In another moment, he would be joining all the people that Chronos had ever killed...

"How many others are there with you? Why... why are you doing this?" It seemed futile at this point to ask, but if there was a chance that they would answer, he had to know before they finished. He had to know if any of his comrades were still sane.

Steadying his bow for the final shot, Number III took the honor of explaining. "Chronos always has its way." He said, turning his head slightly to the wall across the room. On it was the long red banner of Chronos, the strange black symbol adorning it as it did the forehead of its leader.

He turned back, looking at the other two numbers. "Go take care of the elders' orders. I'll be joining you shortly." Baldor and Kranz seemed only too eager to obey, their footsteps slowly echoing away as they quickly left. This left only Belze and Emilio.

Light glinted off of the young man's glasses, adding to the image of malice he was giving along with his triumphant smirk. He stared down Belze from behind his glasses, perhaps intent on looking the man in the eyes as the life left him.

Rochefort was indignant as Emilio looked him over. Regardless of the pain he felt which seemed to be coming in unforgivable waves, he held his head high. His eyes did not leave the cold ones of his killer... he would stare this man down until the end.

"Once time is on our side, we'll never have anyone in our way again." The bow string creaked from the force put on it as it was pulled taught, the shining tip of its arrows aimed at Belze's chest.

"You know..." the phrase had come unexpectedly, and almost as an afterthought. "Once we control time, I hope that I'll have the honor of killing you again." Emilio barked out a laugh and let go.

_Snap!_

The arrows were launched but did not reach their target as instead something came between it, and Belze's exposed chest. The object was translucent and shimmered like a flame in the little light that had been permitted to remain.

Belze could only stare, his eyes opened wide. "Xiao Li." he managed to gasp. Seiren recoiled smoothly around the shoulders of it's master as Number X stepped from the shadows.

"I don't understand... you were..." Belze cut off, his mind flashing back to his encounter with Jenos. Just as the man had escaped, he'd heard a voice only to see Xiao Li standing in the shadows. Why had he been there? Had the man seen everything?

Now, the very same man had just saved him. "What is going on here?" Lin asked, looking to Emilio for answers. Finally Belze was able to relax... but only for a very brief moment.

"You should be with the others." No... Belze looked from Number III to Number X in dismay. Xiao Li smirked, his eyes scanning over Belze's crumpled form. "Good work Emilio, but I will take it from here, Lord Wilzark's orders."

The marksmen appeared to be slightly put off at missing the chance to kill his pray, but nodded nevertheless. "Fine, but don't make it messy, you know we have to clean this room afterwards." Pushing up his glasses with a finger, Emilio's eyes glinted dangerously at this statement before he slipped away.

"You really got yourself into some trouble... didn't you?" Xiao Li's gentle and silky voice made Belze shiver. There was a sense of hidden terrors behind such a soft tone. Number X slowly turned back to face his prey, Seiren draping gently across his arms.

"I must say Emilio won't be too happy that I lied about Lord Wilzark's orders, but I knew that I had to be the one to 'do away' with you." He smiled sweetly as if addressing a family member instead of a person he'd worked under and then planned to kill.

"Are Sephiria and I the only two members of Chronos that haven't gone completely mad?" Belze spat angrily, tasting blood now due to his broken ribs.

Number X seemed to shrug. "That's not something for you to know I'm afraid." he said, bending over the older man, gripping Seiren as his face turned grim.

"I'm afraid we've run out of time. Things must be taken care of... quickly." He stated as Belze's eyes closed in the sadness he felt. "But do not worry my friend, it won't be long before you are far away from this place..."

These were the last words he would hear before he allowed himself to fall into unconsciousness.

X X X

_**Ive Been Waiting, Rinslet Walker.**_

A chill seemed to come through the room as silence fell, the words being the only visible typing on the blank white page. How they had come to be there, no one knew. No one had touched the keyboard when they letters had first appeared. For a few moments, no one dared to move, expecting something to happen.

After the silence had grown complete enough that even breathing could only be heard with great concentration, Rinslet could take it no longer. "What the heck is going on?" She blurted. "You guys had better stop joking around. I offer to help, and now you go pulling a prank like this?" She glared at Train specifically.

"Hey!" He gasped at the accusation. "I didn't do anything! As if I could even put a program on the disk like that, Sven's the tech savvy one, not me." He backed away from the furious thief, hands held up defensively.

Eve decided to intervene before anything got out of hand, placing herself between her elder comrades. "Rinslet, Train's telling the truth." She stated flatly. "We have no idea what is going on. For the moment, both of us are as in the dark as you are."

Her statement calmed the woman, seeing as Rinslet knew that Eve would never lie to her. Though the tension in the air slackened, this still left many questions, and all heads turned to the screen. It had remained unchanged, the five words still jet black and clear.

"What are we supposed to do?" Rins asked, taking the mouse and looking for a place to click, hoping to fin a hidden link. "Am I supposed to do something? Like, type a code in... or press a button?" Her companions shrugged, so Rinslet's fingers hovered over the keyboard.

"Well since no one else has any ideas, let's try something simple." Placing her hand on the mouse gingerly, as if expecting an electric shock to come, she clicked the enter key to see if anything would happen. Nothing seemed to and the computer continued its low humming in the backdrop.

"Maybe you need to say something to it." Train offered, his usual absurd ideas seeming to flow freely. He received odd looks from both of the girls. "Hey, it's worth a shot right?" He grabbed the keyboard and quickly types in a few words.

_**Hello, I'm Rinslet Walker.**_

"Give the keyboard back you idiot!" Rinslet shouted, whacking Train over the head with one of her fists. "You probably messed something up now!" She retrieved the keyboard, her irritation showing as she set it back not not quite as gently as she should have.

"Hey, sorry!" Train clutched his head with his arms, shrinking away from his attacker. "You didn't have to hit me you know!" He whined, pouting in his chair.

"Would you two knock it off?" Eve yelled, loud enough to drowned out the squabbling of the others. She pointed a slender finger at the screen. "Look!" Immediately silencing their shouts or complaints, the others did as Eve had instructed.

New words had just finished typing themselves out beneath those that Train had typed in. It was longer this time, an actual sentence. It appeared that Train was as amazed as everyone else was that his method had produced results.

_**Very Good of you to come Miss Walker. The information you are looking for is right here. Do you care to see it?**_

"It's a question this time too?" Rinslet shuddered. "It's like it knows what I want to do before I do." She shook her head. "No way, that's insane." She clicked the keys on the board, typing out a response and reading it aloud as she did.

_**Yes I want to see what you have to show me. What is it?**_

"And you thought mine was lame." Train muttered, crossing his arms ans putting his feet up on the desk, much to Rinslet's dismay. "Can you be a little more boring about it? At least get creative if this thing is going answer back!"

"Can it, I think it's working again." This kept getting weirder and weirder. Once again the mysterious computer disk seemed to be answering as the black letters typed out one by one. How it was done puzzled everyone present.

_**I hoped you would ask. If you wish to see, simply type in the code that will be given below. It will run the program CLAIRVOYANT immediately and give you what you seek. I will warn you however, this information is dangerous in hands, be they yours or any others. Choose wisely.**_

_**Code: LG9sV7Bc13**_

The typing stopped and the humming from the computer seemed to have slowed, becoming quieter. There was a feeling in the air... They either entered the code now, or the monitor would remain silent.

It had come so suddenly after such a failed attempt with the previous disk. No one was sure quite whether or not they should do anything at all at that moment. It was as if someone inside the computer were watching them. Watching... and waiting.

"Ok... this is getting too creepy." Rinslet said, removing her fingers from the computer keys. "This must be some fancy programing if it can do something like this."

"Unless someone is on the other end." Rinslet and Train swiveled around to look at Eve. She stared at the screen, her concentration unbreakable. "If someone left that disk at the warehouse on purpose for some reason, then this could be a trap. Maybe someone was working with Jacoby."

There was a pause and Train interrupted. "Or... _He_ was working for _Them._"

Eve didn't want to just leave the disk as it was, forever taunting them with the knowledge it could contain. Yet, she wasn't one to do anything rash. Her own caution stayed her hand, keeping her from typing in the code herself.

"Eve is right. With technology these days, it's possible." Rins answered, a finger to her chin in contemplation. "But, why go about it in such a strange way? How do we know that this person isn't actually trying to help us? Besides... why would it be addressing me?"

'_**How thoughtful of you. I was afraid that your fear would get the better of you, and it appears by your waiting that I was correct. Perhaps there is some way for me to prove my innocence?'**_

Everyone jumped as someone else spoke from behind them. The voice was mechanical, but it matched the words that now sat across the screen. The sentence did not repeat, apparently waiting an answer.

When none came, it once again took it upon itself, who or whatever this thing was, and wrote once more, this time the computerized voice speaking as if reading its own lines.

_**'Heartnet, and the bio weapon... you are there as well are you not? Very good. It appears I was correct in guessing who you would go to for help. I can assure you that if you wish to help your partner, this is the information you seek. You must hurry though, Time is beginning to bounce back.'**_

Train and Eve looked to one another, their eyes seeming to relay something that each understood without the need of speaking. Rinslet blinked, looking from one to the other. "Ok, what am I missing here?" She asked.

Train shook his head, the eyes of Black Cat shining through his normal demeanor. He grabbed the keyboard and began typing in the code. Rinslet made to interrupt, but her eyes met Train's and she immediately silenced.

"Risk is always involved, in everything we do. Sweepers, or thieves... it is all the same. But right now, I'm tired of waiting around for answers. I'm going to get some myself. The other file was labeled the Chronos project, and Sephiria said something about trying to create a wormhole. Something tells me that this isn't just a coincidence when this person capitalized the word 'Time'."

No one tried to argue. It appeared that everyone was in agreement. Train input the code and pressed enter. There was a loud beep and suddenly the black letters disappeared from the screen. For a moment the entire page went black as if the computer had been shut off, completely lifeless by all accounts.

An image popped up that read 'loading' and a moment later, a file was before them. This one was not like the others, as it looked as if someone had scanned in an actual notebook page, the papers yellowing and dirty with handwritten words in either pen or pencil.

There were options on a side panel, allowing the reader to zoom in on the image as well as going forward or backwards between what read as four pages.

The writing was easily legible, neat, tidy, and printed as opposed to in cursive. A few notes were written on the sides of the papers, as if in afterthought, but generally the only other thing written were a few equations that no one could understand.

The header held no name of its writer, but it did provide a date and title. The title of the paper had a stain on it and remained unreadable, the months and year however, were clear as ever.

"January 16th." Rinslet read aloud, then noticed the year. "Sephiria was right, this is old." She murmured. "Forty years, more like it's been-" But she cut off as Train elbowed her. "Right sorry." Everyone leaned in closer to read what had been written. It appeared to be the account of a scientist, the papers from his private journal.

_Todays research did not go well. Though the higher-ups have indeed decided to allow my research to be done in this laboratory, their funding is low as they do not believe I will need materials of great expense. I have sent a coworker to discuss these matters, and hope it goes well._

_On many accounts, progress is very slow. We have failed to find a source of power great enough to fuel the machine. Everything we have tried does not appear to have any effect. No distortion has been created thus far, though we are still hopeful in the general theory of the process._

_Tomorrow if the hearing goes well, we will have the supplies I have requested from the council. The machine will be upgraded, and we will continue the search for a proper power source. The elements are a likely place to start, though compounds are also an option._

At the very bottom of the document was a smaller sentence, one written a little less perfectly. Clearly it had either been written afterwards, or as a quick thought before finishing the document which was left unseen for decades.

_Mental Note: I have been developing a second theory, though I've told no one as I plan to ignore it until our research has gone farther. If a suitable subject is found for my theory, perhaps I will continue looking into it._

This ended the first page, but it did not end with a single page. "Go to the next one." Eve said, gently prodding Rinslet's arm. The woman had been so enthralled by the curious paper that she'd gotten distracted and momentarily lost in thought.

"Right sorry." She clicked for the next page. It took a moment to load, but when it did they all immediately noticed something. This page was a little less yellow, and had more calculations and formulas along the border, written out of the lines. The date was a few years after the previous one, though whether some documents were lost in between or the writer simply skipped years was unknown.

But what was more interesting was that the printed handwriting had grown a little sloppy. Oh it was barely noticeable, more like a normal person's handwriting instead of being nearly as precise as a computer. This, however, was why it was easily noticed. It looked as if the writer were tired this time, or perhaps in a bit of a hurry.

_Has it really been three years already? How time seems to fly. A council member passed away last week, but the newest member seems intrigued with my work. Our current funding has increased and I have finally revealed my theory to my coworkers after all this time._

_I had been studying it intensely whenever I had a free moment, the past few months finally giving me results I had searched for. The Chronos database is quite extensive, which can help or hinder, depending on how it is needed._

_My theory lies with our program, as before. We have failed in our attempts to create a machine that can create a wormhole, a mode of travel to cross the span of the globe in only seconds. Every power source we have tried has not been able to provide the raw energy as we had hoped. Not even nuclear power is capable of such a thing._

_The wormhole is possible, I have seen it. Our last experiment was promising, beginning to create a rift in a minuscule proportion before it was destroyed by its own lack of power. Even such a tiny model destroyed the most advanced power cell without using nuclear energy. But now... there is still a possibility._

_From the database here, I have found that there are rare cases when a person is gifted with foresight. A seer, clairvoyant, fortune teller, physic, they go by many names. The gift is found at a ratio of one in every ten million citizens at best, but perhaps this gift holds a key. A far fetched idea, though perchance it may be correct._

_If they can see the future, it means that there is still a chance that we may manipulate time as well as space in order to travel through a wormhole. My colleagues believe that this theory has much promise. I have sent scouts, with the council's permission, in order to find a clairvoyant for direct research._

The notes that lay around the side held what appeared to be names, though most of the letters were scratched out. Eve and Train were clearly thinking the same thing as Rinslet stopped reading aloud.

"That sounds a little too familiar." Train muttered. "Sven's old partner, Lloyd right? He could see the future." he paused for thought. "But this was years ago... way too many years ago... wasn't it?" Instincts could be a terrible thing when they began to point you in a dangerous direction.

"Perhaps we're just getting ahead of ourselves." Rinslet said, though her stomach was clenched. She too had a bad feeling about this. There was something about these papers that actually scared her.

"These go in order of date." Eve interrupted, pointing to the top of the page. "If the next one is more recent, that means there is still a possibility. " The idea was frightful, but Eve was eager to continue and took the mouse, pressing the next button on the bottom left hand of the screen.

Train caught Eve's expression and put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry princess, we aren't going to skip anything. I want to know what else is here as much as you do." Eve did not answer, her eyes still watching the loading sign on the screen.

This page took a longer time to load, forcing everyones anxiety levels to rise against their will. The moment the new document appeared, the reason for the longer wait was evident. Calculations, names, numbers and words were scribbled all over it in black ink. Things were crossed out and written above other words as if whoever wrote it had changed his or her mind, corrected a mistake, or simply had to 'erase' something. The paper looked more recent as the other one did, but it was in worse condition, torn in a few places.

The handwriting was once again less legible, the letter still looking as if they had come from the same hand, but more curved, the printing starting to connect in areas almost like cursive. Whoever had written this did not take the same care and time as they had in the first journal entry.

_Five of my team have just been buried yesterday. An unforeseen explosion in the lab has claimed their lives, as happened to two others three years ago. This has set back many aspects of our research, possibly for years. Many of the remaining workers have left, fearing that this research is too unstable. _

_They don't trust me as they once did, some even fear what I say and do as mad ravings. I ignore them... there is no reason not to. I know my theories are correct, I just have to prove it._

_I plan to continue regardless of how many coworkers leave my side. I must find a proper power source. We have studied three different keepers of the foreseeing eye as many call it, though regrettably all the experiments have failed. _

_We have notified their families._

_I have kept a sample in the form of an eye of one of the deceased subjects. After much failure, something has managed to succeed. It appears that the human bodies own energy when combined with nuclear power, does appear to have more power, the host's energy escalating the nuclear output. We are getting closer, though nuclear power is too dangerous. The body's cells are destroyed before a proper gate can be opened._

_I will not quite! The council has threatened to cut funding. If all the money goes, my project is doomed. I have to find another subject. That's the only way. The database has listed a few. The closest is in a nearby city. I need to go to him in person as my coworkers refuse to continue such research._

_But perhaps, he can be studied from afar before I approach. Logic dictates that I be cautious, else the council will begin to suspect that my research is still underway._

_The elders do not have to know anything... I have kept most of my research to myself as it is... if any questions arrive, I will simply make an excuse. They won't be able to find my research... no one would dare look for them while I'm away._

Before anyone was able to say a word, the next page loaded automatically. The date was set to around twelve years ago. The handwriting was almost unreadable this time, scribbled in haste across the page. The farther along they read in these papers, the more desperate the author became. The letters and characters were half finished, some T's were crossed in two places when the first line came too far down to be recognizable. G's looked like elongated S's, A's became U's, their loops unclosed, while combination letters such as the 'Th' or 'Ch' were scribbled together to look almost like other letters.

Ink splotches covered many other letters as well, as if from an old fashioned fountain pen. The spelling errors became more evident in this one as well, their wording no longer flawless.

Rinslet was forced to read more slowly, pausing at times in order to try and make out what was written. The farther on she went, the more unbelievable the writing became. This person sounded mad!

_To be stopped when I was so close! The funds are gone, my former workers have deserted me out of fear. Cowards! My ideas are flawless, it is simply the lack of proper materials that has made them fail._

_Time should not be so unstoppable. I refuse to believe that there is no chance at taming the current of time. There isn't much left for me... But I've finally found the one. I don't need money from the council, I can get it in... other ways._

_He is young and it appears he has control of his abilities, all but for a few unexpected flukes when he was young. Those can be fixed with ease now. The perfect subject... I must be allowed to study this man! He will not leave his job as I requested... He is an inspector with the police force, but I believe that that is not his reason for staying._

_A family... apparently he's married and has a child. She does not appear to have his gift, but someone so young is useless to me. There could be another way however..._

_His partner. Perhaps he could convince my subject to obey and come here for research. After the war last year, I have finally found the power source. Ratios are unknown and the possibility for success is less than 10%... but I will try, no matter the expense. _

There were notes around the edge here, most only half visible due to tears and smudges. It was terrible to try and read, only parts of the sentence even making sense.

_Notes: Ratio ..rcentage testing well...find the quant... when mixing... it must be__concentrated__ for proper usage...dosage starting at minimal range... _

The rest were numbers and symbols, some that no one even recognized from mathematics, a few looking like they were from the Greek alphabet.

Then it suddenly cut off, with a large space between it and a second part on the same page, added in later. A new date was scrawled in and words, even harder to read than the previous ones, came with it. The letters were bigger and slanted in different directions. They say that handwriting changes with age, this one seemed to have changed with state of mind.

The stroked appeared separated, brought down swiftly, leaving splatters from the ink pen. It looked like someone had scratched these letters into the paper instead of writing them down.

_I did it... I found him._

_There was an opening... he would be alone, heading home from work. My subjects partner was finally alone! I hired them... against the judgment of my wife and fellow scientists. My wife is gone... she wouldn't let me continue my work, so I _made_ her listen._

_The price they requested in return was small, as I told them that their leaders would soon be free, once he was out of the picture. My target left, their target stayed behind. Everything was perfect. He was injured, caught off guard. They took him to their hideout..._

_But they lied! I told them to _kill _him! He had to be out of the way for my goal to be achieved!_

The way that I's were dotted and T's were crossed made it appear as if the writer had almost stabbed at the paper in anger, ink blots clearly visible across the page, the paper looking as if it had been crumpled and torn then repaired by hand.

_They did not kill him.. they only captured him. They made the phone call... they didn't want their leaders back, they wanted revenge! And they got it. He...he didn't die. No, _my_ subject, my _perfect _subject was shot. He was killed... my finally hope was destroyed._

_They won't make that mistake again. They wanted revenge for their leaders... what leaders? When the police look in their cells... there won't be anyone left. I tried to take them from his body... but there wasn't a chance._

_One of those beautiful eyes was lost. He had seen it... everything with his perfect vision. Now... _he _has it... he has the eye, he has _my_ eye! There's no more time... they're coming. It's already begun. They're destroying it... they're destroying everything... taking my research and locking it away._

_The voices... they've stopped now. They know it's over. I can hear myself think once again. There are... footsteps... I can hear them coming for me... but it's too late. They won't find anything left now. I'm too old.. there's no...more...time..._

The rest was just some scribbles. The date read a little over seven years ago and though the writing had stopped, one name was scratched out in large letters, surrounded by splotches of ink at the very bottom of the page.

_Lloyd Goldwyn_

"Oh my god..." Rinslet breathed. Everyone's eyes were wide, unable to break away from the screen. It was a lie... everything they knew, that _Sven_ knew about that nightmarish day seven years ago... it had been a _lie_.

"Lloyd... could he really have seen this?" Train asked quietly, sounding in awe of the idea. "Sven told me that Lloyd had said he'd seen his own death so he went to make sure it came true... to make sure that Sven didn't die instead. But this..." He slowly shook his head.

"Lloyd knew Sven would die if he didn't come... " Eve pondered. "He may have even foreseen whatever the scientist who wrote these was planning on doing." her hands clenched into fists. "He killed so many people because of a stupid experiment..."

Rinslet put a comforting hand on Eve's, then turned back. "But... what does this all mean?" She asked skeptically. "Why would someone show us all of this?"

"Chronos." Everyone turned to Train. He had stood up, hands pressed down on the desk. His eyes were wide but did not appear to be looking at whatever lay before them. "The Chronos project... a time machine... it all makes sense!"

Eve was standing now too, her expression worried. "Train? What are you talking about?" She was smarter than most adults that Train knew, but at the moment she had not made the connection he had.

"It wasn't an accident." he breathed, his body beginning to shake as his emotions rose. "Jacoby... he broke into Chronos and saw these files... he had to of. He wasn't aiming for me, or even for Eve. _He was aiming to hit Sven!"_

Eves eyes widened in shock. "It was a set up!" She continued, catching on to her partner's idea. "Someone is using those files... and then, Sven..." She stared at Train. "They're trying to finish the experiment... and they're using Sven."

Train spun the chair he had been sitting in around, shoving it out of the way as he dashed for the door."We've got to get back to Annette's!" He called, Eve quickly fallowing him out the door.

Rinslet gasped as she was left behind, dashing to the doorway and yelling out into the hall. "What the hell! Guys, come back, are you telling me someone is trying to kill Sven?" She asked. This was all going too fast for her.

Maybe if she had been there, if she had seen what had happened at the warehouse... then she would understand. "We have to get to Sven before someone else does." Train gasped as he and Eve dashed out the door, the latter trying to keep up.

"Train... what's wrong?" Eve gasped as Train began unlocking the car as quickly as his feline reflexes would allow. "I don't understand, who is after Sven?"

Train shook his head as they both got in, his eyes closing as he shook his head. "I don't know who. But you heard what Rinslet read. The scientists spoke about a war..." The car started and lurched forward, gaining speed as Train hit the gas full throttle.

"They're using Tao." Eve's eyes went wide, looking at Train's glare in the rear view mirror. Pieces fell together instantly and she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"The bullet. The lab couldn't identify the substance... because it was Shinktu. The Tao holy water... The only way they could get enough power, is from the user themselves." Train made a sharp turn, cutting through traffic like a mad man. He didn't care if they got a million tickets. He needed to get back _fast_.

"I've had enough with Taoists." Train said, grinding his teeth as he gripped the steering wheel. "If Sven was able to use the spirit water, then he'll live and whoever is planning all of this will have their way. If not..." he cut off.

Eve shuddered as they pulled onto a main road, though luckily it was nearly deserted. "They're trying to create a human time machine."

Train's eyes narrowed. "Not if we can help it." Beeping filled their ears as Train swerved through traffic that had just appeared. "Worse yet, whoever Jacoby was working for knows about the Chronos project, even though Chronos themselves tried to cover it up. They destroyed the warehouse and all the files, hid the evidence and made up a story that would keep people quiet."

Eve gave a nod. "Someone has access or great skill if they can get these files. For all we know the disk we have is the only copy." She paused a moment. "How do we know that whoever made the disk isn't the person we are looking for?" She asked, her small hands gripping the seat of the car against the gravitation force that pushed into her.

Train shook his head, leaning closer to the wheel to which he clung. "I don't think so. Call me crazy but whoever is trying to help us doesn't seem like they're on anyone's side. Why go through such trouble with the secret messages instead of just coming and telling us?" It was still going to be a while before they reached town, but at least they had made it to the freeway, giving Train a bit of room to relax as his last question hung in the air.

Eve on the other hand only tensed further, her brow creased. "Nothing ever happens that simply Train." She said as her driver made another sharp turn, a sign appearing that said they were close to the city. "Why would someone help us?"

"You're right..." He had to agree, the farther they got caught up in this mess, the harder things seemed to become. His thoughts dwelled deep for a moment and Train's eyes strayed from the road. To his horror he felt the car lurch out of nowhere and heard Eve scream, wrenching him back to reality.

The car spun and Train fought to gain control. Hitting the brake fast, their rotation began to low and he was able to stop, quickly getting out of harm's way, Eve close behind. Smoke billowed from under the hood where three large arrows had appeared.

Sparks flew from the car and more smoke spurted out, forcing the sweepers to back away, arms covering their faces.

Train looked around, the hairs on his neck standing on end. Dust cleared from behind the car, revealing skid tracks as well as someone who stood just outside their range. He wore a black suite and purple shirt that Train knew too well.

"Emilio." He spat, fingers inching towards Hades. "What do you think you're doing? I thought Chronos was leaving me alone now?" Something told him that this did not have to do with his past. But perhaps... someone else's...

The Chronos number smiled at him, pushing up his glasses. "Sorry guys, but I've been given orders to keep you busy..." he paused, the grin slinking further across his face. "While the others finish their job with someone else."

Train's eyes widened. "When will you guys learn to leave my family alone!" he dashed forward, hades ready.

"Train wait!" Eve called, trying to make him stop but missing his arm by inches when she reached out. It was too late, a bang was heard and the match was set as bullets and arrows began to fly.

X X X

**A/N: I hope my continuity is right since I was up late again writing. Also it says that the scientist's spelling was terrible, but I figured instead of making you read terrible grammar, I would correct all mistakes (since Rinslet is reading it out loud and you wouldn't know of any spelling errors when listening anyways) By the way I based the handwriting of the scientist (when he's insane) on my own handwriting. Just a little quirk you might enjoy hearing. (My handwriting looks like chicken scratch)**


End file.
